Chapter 7: An Unexpected Serenade

While it had taken some convincing, in the end, Subaru agreed.

Wandering back to his room, YN got ready to slumber. In the same way he slipped into bed, an idea also did so into his mind.

Hmm, might not be a bad reward for my good works.

In the time his phone had remained on the charger, it had probably been given enough power for him to listen to some music whilst he fell asleep, which was something he hadn't done in a long time.

Unlocked, YN checked his phone's battery, and it read a good thirty one percent.

This should get me a few hours of tunes, I'll just set a playlist and get my headphones and —

Stopping his thought, YN had remembered most of his belongings were still in his car that had remained in the Capitol.

YN: Huh… I know I probably don't have my headphones, but I wonder if I still have my earbuds in my jacket.

Wondering this aloud, he said this as he walked over to the armoire, where he then rifled through the pockets of his jacket.

YN: Those cheap things should be in one of these pockets… —Ah! There we go.

Finding exactly what he was looking for, he untangled the cord and plugged it into the phone. With that, he crawled into bed, and finding a comfy spot, YN let his music carry his thoughts away.

Hopefully Rem will be pleasantly surprised, provided Subaru remembers to carry through on his end of the deal…

It was morning, roughly the time YN would normally wake up as the first light of the day made its way through the gap in the curtains.

However, considering he was told his duties were limited to later afternoon tasks today, he took the chance of sleeping in a little longer, —his first time he was able to since arriving to this new world.

Yet, there was a particular maid that had other curiosities that stood in the way of that chance.

…It is rather strange that Rem has found herself in such a particular situation.

For some reason, most, if not really all of the tasks she had needed to complete before departing to Arlem had already been attended to.

—And by Subaru, no less.

Something tells Rem though, that YN-kun may have a hand in this…

Subaru had no logical reason, nor a motive she knew of that would prompt him to do such deeds, so to Rem, the entire gesture, even if done for the purest of reasons, terribly reeked of suspicion.

He stands to gain nothing, and cares not for no-one's favor in the Mansion beside Emilia-sama's… So for him to do this…

Only one thing seemed obvious; he had been persuaded in one way or another by someone else to carry out these tasks.

In his sleeping state, a knock on YN's door at this mid-morning hour by the blue-haired maid went un-responded to, and entirely convinced that this unfounded free-time she suddenly had was caused by the one inside, Rem ever-so-quietly opened the door.

With all of her maid-like quality, she entered into the room in a most graceful, quiet fashion, her feet stepping toe-first across the entire room until she reached YN, where she saw his still slumbering face.

Rem, being so disciplined in courtesy and discretion, would never normally wake someone up when they had no purpose for being awake. Yet, this morning, she was far too overly suspicious of YN's 'why' and his 'how' that had gotten Subaru to wake up so early to do tasks normally reserved only for her.

Rem approached the sleeping YN and made not a sound as she did, as even her breathing was so carefully controlled, she might as well have been a phantom moving about in his room.

Rem: —?

Yet, as she reached his bedside, something about his appearance greatly perplexed her.

From each of YN's ear's, two black strings descended his head, and joined together into a combined string of sorts, which in turn, led to his hand that was currently propped up underneath his pillow his own head was on already.

Letting her curiosity get the better of herself, Rem ever-so-gently lifted the side of the pillow to see where or to what the string led to. Being careful as to not wake YN, she peered underneath, and looked to where the string ended, and where it did, was in his hand.

To her surprise, the string led to the same black rectangle he had connected to the sun-power device.

While YN had professed the device's harmlessness, Rem still had her suspicions. Again using her gracefully gentle hand skills, she maneuvered the rectangle from YNs hand.

As soon as she touched its smooth, glass-like surface, the rectangle dimly lit up. Seeing the sudden illumination come from it, Rem was so surprised she had almost dropped it. She immediately moved her fingers away from the light.

Instinctively, from her experience with magic and the tools that were powered by them, Rem knew that a glow of light usually was accompanied by head, and not wishing to be potentially burned, she recoiled her fingers.

Yet, as she thought of this, she remembered how casually YN had operated the device, and no such burns befell him, so timidly, she let her fingertips return to the glassy surface that projected light.

Rem: —?!

Only just managing to keep her hitched breath from being audible, Rem was surprised by how her softest of touches on the device made the light react to minute contact. Like ripples on a still pond, from barely brushing this glass, the glowing picture she saw was warped momentarily like it truly was under the sheen of a motionless water.

Letting these ripples echo away into nothingness, the glow returned to how it once had been, and displaying symbols similar to the ones YN had written down the day before during their tutoring session, they further caught Rem's eye, given they were a familiar sight now.

Rem knows this meteor captures memories in an instant, and can even record voice and motion… But what purpose does it serve YN-kun to have it attached to his head?

She couldn't fathom what this would function as, given her already limited understanding of the device. Yet, despite all that, what perplexed the maid most of all, was the bright, white triangle on the illuminated half of the black rectangle. Although she couldn't describe the feeling, something about it called her to touch it.

Against her better judgment, and at the almost primal call of curiosity, Rem slowly laid her finger on the bright white triangle.

Immediately, in the blink of an eye, the triangle turned into two white lines, parallel to each other. Accompanying that, she heard what sounded like popping, or perhaps hissing? The faint sound was like that of far away voices that the wind was carrying in just the right way to make the words almost make sense. It took Rem only a second to realize from where these noises originated, and that was at the split ends of the string that was coming from the small black rectangle.

—Which again, lead directly to YN's ears.

Rem: —!

The sounds had only been emanate from the string for less than a split second before YN bolted upright in bed, tearing the strings from his ears in the process

This sudden awakening that YN had even managed to surprise Rem, who thought she was certain he would be fast asleep. In shock, Rem dropped the rectangle from her hands, letting it fall, where it took this ear-string along with it.

Stunned awake, YN looked around the room, now slightly brighter than he last remembered seeing it thanks to the sun coming through the curtains, with eyes wide open.

The very first thing he noticed other than that though of course, was the blue-haired maid crouched down off to the side of his bed. A rather surprised look was upon her adorably round face, which also seemed to be coupled with a 'found-out' kind of embarrassment.

YN: Goodness gracious Rem… You'll give someone a heart attack, trying to scare someone like that.

In his just-awoken grogginess, YN's innocent mind assumed no malice from the blue-haired girl by his bedside, or why she was here all of sudden, first thing in the morning. Seeing her here though, his mind still reminded him what he had been up to before falling asleep.

My phone and the music…

Following where he had felt the earphones still be plugged into, he fished his phone back up to where he was sitting up. As he paused the music that had taken him harshly out of his slumber, YN's slowly awakening mind began to grow more curious.

Just what exactly woke me up there? Did I bump my phone in a way to make it play music? Or was it Rem?

Looking to the maid, as if seeking an answer, he could see she was crouched, but remained in a way that made her still seem like she had recoiled her entire body upon his sudden change of consciousness.

Only able to yawn and scratch his face, he of course had to ask what she was doing here regardless of his phone, his music, or how he woke up.

YN: *Yawn~~* Actually, speaking of which, what made you come into my room, Rem? Did I oversleep?

Rem: — — —

With all her might, Rem kept a poker-face to his question. The moment she showed any alarm to that question, she feared YN might suspect something uncouth of her.

Rem: Rem was making sure YN-kun was in good health before we set out for today. It is past the time he usually wakes up, but he did not oversleep.

YN: A-Ah. I did want to get a little extra shut-eye in since you mentioned I'd only be on light duty today. I take it we're still going to the village?

Rem: That is correct, yes.

Knitting his brows, YN himself also tried to keep a dutiful poker face, if only in an effort to hide his prospective involvement in the subject of his next question, and to make sure Subaru had made good on his side the deal that was struck last night.

YN: Uh, speaking of which, didn't you complain last night that you needed to do a lot more than normal this morning before leaving? I-I'm up now, so I can help if you want it.

At his question, Rem suspected nothing, as she was mostly just relieved the conversation ahd safely moved past the rectangle of glowing lights that YN had called his "sell-fone."

A hand to her chest, and shaking her head, Rem answered YN's question.

Rem: It seems as if for some strange reason Subaru-kun decided to do Rem's share of the morning chores.

With a sense of relief that Subaru had followed his end of the deal, YN answered.

YN: Ah good, maybe he got confused as to what tasks were his? I suppose that leaves you unoccupied with much else to do this morning, right?

Hoping for a cheerful response, Rem instead replied with a question of her own using one of his just spoken words.

Rem: '…Good'?

YN: —Hk…

Clearly confused as to what YN's intention was behind his usage of that word, Rem tilted her head, her suspicion from before being reinvigorated.

YN: I-I-uhhh, meant 'good' as in 'good for you!'

Rem: — — —

With the more that YN stumbled over his own words, Rem continued to keep up her former poker face, as if to prompt YN into saying more of things Rem suspected him of.

To that, YN cleared his throat, and renewed his tone. With whole-hearted honesty, his words came out as genuine as could be, shrugging while he did.

YN: Rem, if I've come to learn anything after working here for as briefly as I have, it's that you work hard. —Harder than anyone else here does, and throughout all that time, I've never even seen you get the time to take a break despite the labor-pool here doubling once figure in Subaru and myself being hired. What we do is meager compared to what you alone handle in a single day, but that still leaves me with no idea how you and Ram handled the workload before us.

Rem: —?!

Not expecting such a recognition in his words, Rem couldn't help but put a hand up to her bangs, where she softly pushed some of her hair behind her ears as she turned her expression away to hide the scarlet band forming on her cheeks.

YN's reply wasn't the one was looking for, but it did let her deduce a few things from it.

Subaru-kun wouldn't go off and take on Rem's duties without being coerced. If YN-kun feels so… passionate about the workload though, he must have traded, or done something, or promised something to Subaru-kun in exchange for taking on some of Rem's tasks.

The more she thought of it, the more it made sense.

Whatever the reason may be for it, he must only have good intentions since he has not once alluded to being involved. In fact, Rem has already caught YN-kun in his own words once in this conversation, and that alone was enough to be suspected of doing just this as Rem had thought.

While she had ample circumstantial evidence to press the issue with him for an answer, Rem's bewildered smile from before remained. For there was a reason she simply let that slip by.

It is just like our moment out in the gardens on that walk, is it not? YN-kun was considerate to Rem's feelings when she misspoke, and Rem did the same for him in return not long after.

With this being another occurrence of the two somehow managing to perfectly understand each other despite not sharing a word on that whatsoever, Rem's thoughts went on.

Rem therefore will not pressure him. Perhaps though, an opportunity to get out of his words is in order even.

Going to stand now, Rem kept her smile, but walked over to the curtains on the other side of the room. In two graceful moves, Rem parted them to let in the light of the morning, and lifted the bannister of the window, just enough for a light breeze to sweep fresh air into the room.

As a way for Rem to change the subject by in turn changing the scenery around them, this was her way of letting YN out of his misspoken 'good' from earlier.

Rem: Since Rem has found herself with time away from her duties, and YN-kun is not to do anything of significance until it is time to depart, shall we pass the time together until that departure time arrives?

YN: —?!

Rem stood here now, waiting for YN to answer, but he was awestruck by how her smile shined in the bright early morning sun, and how beautiful her eyes were as her bangs swung from the breeze coming through the window.

Finally though, as Rem tilted her head as if to extenuate her desire for an answer she felt she already knew the answer to, YN quickly had to regain his composure to tell her what it was.

YN: Y-Yes, —I-I mean, sure. Yes. I would l-like that a lot, actually…

Side-by-side, the groundskeeper and maid walked down the steps of the Mansion, past the fountain, and onto the perimeter walkway of the back gardens, just like their first walk together.

While they both would be walking like this later on once they left for the village of Arlem, for right now, they kept to the shady grass just adjacent to the path, and walked at a much more leisurely pace then they otherwise might have.

Seemingly, a good topic for conversation crossed YN's mind as he thought of that.

Given Rem would be free from any duties for the remainder of this morning, and hopefully even more by tonight once they got back, provided Subaru kept up working double-time, YN couldn't understand why Rem kept the very formal appearing maid uniform on.

He wasn't about to complain and say he didn't like it. In fact, he took a bit of guilty pleasure in stealing glances at Rem when he could because of the outfit. It was very revealing, but treaded a fine line between alluring and professional. The exposed shoulders, chest, and back of the dress constantly caught his eye, and the shortness of the accompanying skirt was just short enough that one could only barely catch a glimpse of her bare thighs above the thigh-highs she wore.

Truly, maybe he did like it more than he realized, but a bouquet of drooly compliments wasn't what he had thought of. Rather, in the days he'd been here, he had never seen Rem wear any other sort of clothing.

To him, he thought now would be the most appropriate time for her to do so if she had any, given she was on free-time, and would be traveling later that day, surely she'd want something either more practical or easy to wear.

YN: So, uh, Rem. What do you uh, typically wear when you're not working? —Like how Subaru wears his track-suit when he's not working. Do you wear anything different for leisure?

With a shake of her head, her blue bangs swayed gently as she answered in a rather quiet way, as if her opinion on this matter was already long tempered.

Rem: Rem does not require such things…

There was a small hesitation as she said this, as if she had overspoken about a topic she felt a certain way about, and quickly tried to excuse her way out of it as she continued.

Rem: Even if Rem possessed any, it may put Roswaal-sama's reputation in a poor light if the Mansion were to suddenly receive surprise visitors. In fact, there are many opportunities Rem could otherwise be seen in non-work attire because she must be constantly available to perform duties.

YN: I see…

A hint of small disappointment dashed across YN's mind at hearing that, as while he did like Rem's current attire, he felt like a girl as pretty as her should have moments where she could be as she truly wanted to be. To see her as such, might let him better understand her, and for some strange reason, the inner-workings of Rem's mind; her tastes, her preferences, all seemed esoteric or sibylline, and as such, had an alluring aura to their prospective discovery. Something definitely was drawing YN into wanting to uncover more about the blue haired maid.

YN: Wait—,

At the same time though, to Rem's words, YN had a small worry begin to fester in the back of his mind.

YN: —what about me? Does that apply to me too? Am I rolling the dice on a risk every time I want to get comfortable?

YN currently wore the same attire he had upon arriving in this world, but since he had a work uniform fit for a groundskeeper, his current clothes had become his attire for off-work activities.

Responding to YN, Rem spoke, eyes closed as she did, and waved her single raised index finger around.

Rem: Should YN-kun, or anyone else for that matter do anything that would bring shame to the estate, Roswaal-sama will dole out punishment appropriate to the staff member responsible.

A nervous bead of sweat rolling down the back of his head, YN tensed up upon hearing Rem say it like that.

YN: Ah, that sorta sounds harsh, but what can you expect, right?

In the next moment, Rem dropped her colder demeanor, opened a single eye, and stuck her tongue out in a teasing fashion.

With sense of a relief being granted to YN by Rem's cute gesture, the walk continued on with light conversation until they reached one of the largest trees in the garden area, which, technically was not inside the gardens at all, but was rather a tree so large it loomed over into the more manicured part of the area. It was at this natural stopping point did Rem finally pose the single question that had been on her mind since earlier this morning.

Rem: YN-kun, may Rem inquire why it was that your memory-and-motion-capturing Meteor was tied to your ears this morning?

The walk continued with light conversation until the farthest point of the gardens, farthest from the mansion, where Rem asked a question that had been on her mind about this morning's first early interaction.

Somewhat surprised this was a fication of Rem's, YN didn't think there was any harm in humoring her.

YN: You mean by cell phone, right?

Cocking her head to what he called it, Rem at first didn't understand the words of its name.

Rem: 'Sell, Fone?' …YN-kun would not be trying to find a buyer of this exotic item, would he?

At first, YN didn't understand what Rem was getting at, but as her gently said words echoed about in his head, he had to let out a mild chuckle, as he finally surmised where her confusion tided from.

Rem: —Hph.

To his reaction though, Rem puffed up her cheeks and pouted slightly in protest.

Rubbing his face with his hand to try and force his composure to return, YN apologized.

YN: Ah, sorry, sorry, Rem. That was funny, but it's my fault. This thing has a name that would be confusing to understand at first.

Rem: …And what would be so comedic about inquiring such a thing? Rem may have asked Roswaal-sama to assist YN-kun in finding an interested buyer, but not if he chooses to be so uncouth.

YN, in an attempt to correct the misunderstanding, waved away the offer Rem was threatening to withhold.

YN: I should have clarified, I didn't mean 'sell' as in 'S-E-L—'

YN, stopping his explanation mid-sentence, remembered that of course, Rem wouldn't understand his native languages' spelling structure at all. He might have well been trying to speak braille to her with that.

Seeing too there was an equal amount of confusion on her adorably round face to accompany that, YN cleared his throat.

YN: *Ahem* Rem, if you'll allow me to, let me backup and start from a better point, okay?

Hearing there was genuine sincerity in his words, the maid softly smiled and nodded as she folded her hands behind her back, as if maybe hoping he'd step back to offer a better explanation.

Unable to look how adorable she looked like this thought and explain things in a coherent way, YN turned his gaze up and away to the sunlight poking through the tiny holes in the tree canopy above.

YN: They sound a lot alike, but 'Sell,' —like to sell something, and 'cell' are two very different words. I realize that sounds confusing to have two words that sound the same, but the latter is just a shorthand way of saying the longer word 'cellular.'

Hearing this newer, longer word, the maid pursed her lips before giving the strange designation a pronunciation of her own.

Rem: 'Sell-you-lier?' What does it mean?

While her intrigue onto these topics was greater than YN had expected, it for some reason wasn't unwelcome. In fact, he sort of liked it.

It was cute.

Still, to her question, he had to scratch his head at how to answer it in a way she could even begin to understand.

YN: Wew… I mean, we could really go down a long and deep rabbit hole with me trying to explain what it really is or does. —Or rather, what it's supposed to do, as since it's from another—, er, so far from home, I can't really show what it truly does.

At his bitter explanation, Rem's own expression became slightly lamentable, as she had hoped to come to understand what this strange device was if she could.

Rem: Ah, Rem must apologize. She did not mean to ask for such a monumental undertaking on YN-kun's side in not only showing these things, but also explaining them.

YN: Ah-Ah, no-no! It's fine. It's not so much that it's an effort needed by anyone, rather, these lands lack what the phone needs to do these extra things. —And the concept behind it is complex. Like, really, really complex. I don't mind explaining as best as I can, —I really don't, I just…

Smiling weakly at YN as his word's trailed off Rem turned her head back forward, and stayed silent, not knowing exactly what to say. Feeling guilt from that, like he was potentially letting Rem down and suffocating this innocently cute desire she had to know more about the phone, YN spoke his thoughts aloud, hoping to help Rem understand he wasn't upset with her, but rather at the unavoidable cultural barriers between them with the level of understanding they had of each at this juncture.

YN: I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to make you feel like you're not smart enough to understand it, or that it would go right over your head… I get how that can feel, because that's been almost every single day for me ever since I first arrived in this world—

In the midst of wanting to pour out his honest heart to Rem, her expression had softened at hearing him go on, and in doing so, so had the filter YN had to keep over what he said, and thus, just a single word too far, he let not another whisper pass across hips lips.

After all, he did not want another repeat of what happened the last time he and Rem spoke in the gardens from the previous day.

Yet, to his utter surprise, in something that clearly should have been picked up by the maid, she simply kept looking forward, as if contemplating all the other things he said and pretended not to hear that last utterance.

But to his surprise, at the end of his sentence, Rem simply kept looking forward and walking. Almost as if pretending to not hear the last thing he said.

Carefully, he watched Rem, waiting for her to question him about his slip-up. Yet, instead, she turned to him, and asked—

Rem: —Rem is willing to listen nonetheless. So long as YN-kun would like to, Rem would like to try and understand.

Even though it should be obvious she should have questioned him on what he said, YN truly felt like his heart had skipped a beat when said that. Even if not said aloud though, Rem contemplated this, as it was still a conscious choice she had chosen to make, and from it, she still thought of it herself.

YN-kun accidentally said something odd again, Rem can tell. Yet, Rem can also tell just by the way he was speaking, whatever it was, it is not malicious. Since YN-kun does seem to genuinely hold consideration for even Rem's own feelings when something similar happens, she shall continue to show the same for him.

Even while Rem deliberated in her mind, there was a faint warmth growing in YN's chest. He wasn't sure why, but hearing that Rem was simply willing to listen, despite the differences in understanding, had moved something in him. His hand's faintly shaking with an anxiety, he reached into his pocket, and retrieved his phone.

While it looked simple, he knew he would have to try hard to explain the complexity of the device.

YN: You've already seen this thing make what are to you; instant paintings, but you've also seen how it can capture motions just as they were, and the voices of those it can hear. If this thing were to be at full capacity though, I could show you all of its main functions, but being so far from home, only its secondary purposes can be performed.

Rem: All of what YN-kun has shown this 'fone' can do are not even related to its main function?

YN: Believe it or not, no… Instant voice communication from halfway around the world was its main one. —Which, it would be capable of here too, but the underlying infrastructure it needs to be able to do that doesn't reach here is the thing.

At first thinking he might seem untruthful given he most certainly was, at the very least, "halfway across the world," YN tried not to get in the topic of telecom networks on top of what he was already doing.

Rem: …So it is used primarily for communication?

Stopping her walk, Rem stared keenly at the little rectangle in YN's hand, and asked this in very serious tone, that was almost like the colder tone that Rem at first refused to drop at all when speaking to him.

YN: Yes, although, like I said, it's practically useless so far from home. It's limited to what you've mainly already seen.

Never did Rem's eyes leave looking at the device, but in reply to his admission, Rem asked yet another inquiry about the phone.

Rem: This morning though, why was it strung to YN-kun's ears?

YN blinked twice at Rem's words, given how she had chosen to speak them. While it took but a second to realize what she had meant, he smiled at how forgetful he had been.

YN: Ah, that was one of the other few things it's capable of doing still. I was listening to music to fall asleep last night.

Rem: —?

Deadset on the phone, Rem's eyes looked at it as if YN himself wasn't even there holding it. He wasn't sure if this was curiosity, or suspicion, but Rem's chilly tone warmed slightly as she voiced her words.

Rem: Rem did not hear this device emanating any music… Although, she did hear what may have been hissing or chirping coming from where the 'phone' was connected to YN-kun's ears. —At the ends of the two strings.

Probably confused, given she was used to the phone's external speaker replaying her voice when she had first encountered the device, YN reached back into his pocket once more, and from it, retrieved the pair of "strings" Rem was referring to.

YN: This is a little bit of a limitation the phone has. Sure, it can play sounds or music out loud like when you heard your own voice from it, but for things that matter, like music… Well, if you want it to sound good you have to use a pair of these.

With a face of mistrust and uncertainty, Rem continued to stare at the rectangle, which, after seeing YN insert a small metal tip from the conjoined part of the strings into the body of the device, only grew slightly more concerned.

YN: The trick is to make the sound go through these, which brings the sound directly to your ears.

Rem's single visible eye of blue remained on the phone still, as if growing increasingly distrustful of the entity entirely.

Rem: — — —

Yet, to YN's utter surprise, he easily broke through Rem's icy suspicion of it all by simple taking one of the earbuds in his free hand, and offering it over to the maid.

YN: …Would you like to give it a try?

Rem: —!

Her breath catching in her throat for a moment, Rem seemed almost panicked that she would be asked this.

Rem: —M-May Rem?

Curiosity getting the better of herself, she responded with eagerness in her voice.

Rem: I-If it would not trouble YN-kun, that is…

Slow to regain her composure, even to Rem herself, she did not understand why she was being so beguiled by the prospect of having something as colorful as music directly introduced to her ear.

While he was amused by Rem's behavior, YN smiled at this underlying enthusiasm she had.

YN: Why don't we go sit in the shade over there? Trying to walk when you're unfamiliar with the earbuds might cause them to fall out.

Nodding to his suggestion, Rem headed over to a small stone or marble bench of the gardens that was positioned under that same large tree they were under, with YN following closely behind, looking down at his phone while he did.

I guess the real question is now… What kind of music do I play for her? —Better yet, what kind of music do they even have in this world?

Brainstorming what to go with, YN contemplated his choices.

Do I go with plucky folk-music? Or does most music still come in the form of traveling bards and minstrels doing one man shows? Do they form troops and perform together? Are fully assembled and conducted orchestras a thing either?

Right now, he had a mountain of questions he wished he could ask in regard to these curiosities. He hadn't come across any music in his brief time in the Capitol, but nothing he saw seemed to clue him in on what to expect.

As his mind tried to juggle this choice, Rem, sitting down on the white-marble bench looked back to YN who was still a few paces away, staring at his phone.

Rem: Um, this music… Does YN-kun first need to capture it like how it captured Rem's voice?

To her question, YN felt the mental weight on his mind multiply, but given she had asked it so innocently, he shouldered that.

Huh… She's already starting to understand its capabilities to a smaller degree. That's honestly a lot faster than I expected anyone to be able to in this world.

But, to Rem, YN responded, trying to balance this question with his on-going brainstorm.

YN: You could, however it wouldn't sound too good. It can record and replay sounds, but not as good as equipment dedicated to doing that. If you want music that sounds good, you typically just download them from—

Harshly halting his words, YN's half-focused mind suddenly realized it would be next to impossible to try and explain music files, the internet, and potentially the less than legal ways one typically secured that music for one's self.

We'd be here all day. No, multiple days, explaining all that.

Afraid he might overwhelm the maid when she was seemingly on the cusp of taking the first steps to fathoming such alien technology to her, YN backed his words up.

YN: Uhh, think about it this way; someone else records the music with separate equipment, and then uses other special tools to load it inside the phone. That way, it makes it sound like you're right there, listening to it in person.

Nodding her head in understanding, YN finally sat down next to her.

On this bench, it was small, but just barely wide enough for the both of them to sit tightly together. It felt awkward to YN having to crowd Rem so much, but when he did sit next to her, she did not lean away or adjust herself.

Sat so close to her, he caught the hint of something sweet smelling.

Huh…

—Light and warm, he suddenly found it impossible to ignore, and quickly realized where it came from.

Rem… She… She smells really nice…

For a split second, YN almost felt himself being intoxicated by the aroma she had, until thankfully, as if not noticing his flushed cheeks, Rem innocently asked a follow-up question to YN's answer.

Rem: Then either with these other tools, or this fone, it could capture an entire orchestra's performance? Or that of a minstrel in a tavern? Or a bard in the town square? And it could be heard again and again to anyone's heart's content?

In a row, as if she had read his troubled mind, Rem gave YN a series of just the examples he was wondering about.

YN: I-It definitely could. Are those all the kinds of music you've listened to before?

YN: It most certainly can. Is that the kind of music you've listened to before?

Nodding, Rem responded.

Rem: Yes. Rem and Nee-sama have attended theater preformed dramas with Roswaal-sama in the Capitol, where some had an accompanying musical ensemble.

A hand to his chin, YN tried to sound confident as he now had a more narrowed down answer.

I should probably choose something that falls under 'classical' or 'baroque' to be safe. If I tried to show her anything newer, she might not understand or appreciate it.

Contemplating any other choices outside of that, YN had to rule them out.

It has to be something that will really stand out in terms of making her remember her first time hearing music from my old world… It's got to 'pop' in the right way, to take advantage of being listened to, since that is also part of the appeal here for her.

YN: Given this only has music from where I'm from, I think you've given me a good idea of where to start you out.

Turning his phone on, he had just the scantest amount of battery left to safely have enough time to play a song for Rem.

Seven percent…

From what he had on his phone directly, he had a hard time finding anything that would work as well as he hoped for. Scrolling, he was suddenly interrupted though by a notification.

YN: —Tsk…

Dismissing it, it had been for the educational app he had been used to using, and had been one the reasons he might have ended up in this world to begin with, it causing him to be where he was when he was brought here.

Yet, at its subject being brought up in his mind, it gave YN just the clue he was looking for.

Hey, that's right… That app had me listen to some classical music last week as part of a lesson. That might be just what I'm looking for.

Opening the app, he scrolled back some of his older lessons he had been tasked with before coming to this world, and re-opened the assignment's contents.

All the lesson had entailed was listening to a few pieces, and simply recording how they made him feel. It was easy enough, and there wasn't really a right or wrong answer to the lesson, but still, it had the music off-line still for that most recent occurrence.

Looking at his choices, he had made an easy decision from the available options.

YN: —A-Ah, right. First things first.

Taking earbuds, YN gently, and in his hurried sense of self, hastily put them into Rem's ears. It was only after she put her own fingertips to the buds did he realize how close he had gotten to Rem's personal space, and that he had even gone as far as to gently move her blue hair out of the way.

Rem: Ah… Rem must thank YN-kun for assisting her.

Seemingly though, she did not mind this, but at the same time, YN looked nervously downward at his thumb hovering over the title of his chosen song on the phone's screen.

I hope she likes this…

Pressing it, the phone's music player opened, and while Rem could not read the title herself that was now written in broad letters of white on a black background, YN could, and he did, one last time, in his own head.

'Piano Concerto no.1 in B Flat Minor.'

In the handful of silence that was at the beginning, YN spoke one last time to Rem before he knew she would become too distracted to listen.

YN: Let me know if you want what you're hearing to be louder, or if it starts to hurt your ears, I can change it to be less loud to make it better.

Understanding that it only made sense that the volume of something played by the phone could be changed at will, Rem nodded with a slightly enthusiastic smile.

In the very next second after she nodded, Rem's single visibly blue eye opened wide in amazement, and her mouth fell slightly agape in awe at what she was experiencing.

Rem: …?!

At first afraid by the expression on her adorably round face, YN gestured to Rem silently as her eyes stared out indefinitely across the gardens, trying to see if she wanted the music turned up or down in volume. Yet, as he tried, it was in vain, since Rem herself at this current moment was in a world all her own.

The blue haired maid had never heard something so vividly beautiful and detailed at the same time.

If she had to close her eyes and imagine what this sound should look like, she would only need to picture herself sitting in the first row of the world's most refined concert hall with the most perfectly tuned acoustics, which was occupied by the world's most skilled musical ensemble.

All the while, YN glanced down at the slowly crawling timer of the musical track, aware of when the largest and most emotional impact of the piece would occur.

Two minutes, twenty-seven seconds…

Rem: — — —

Closer and closer it approached, and as soon as it did—

Rem: —!?

Slowly, Rem raised her hands to her ears as small tears formed in her eyes, as if she was unable to believe what she was hearing was absolutely real.

At the same time, YN was left speechless as well, as he certainly hadn't expected this to have such a profound effect in invoking these emotions from the maid.

Where Rem sat, as close as was, was to the opposite side of which hand YN continued to hold his phone, whereas his free hand rested upon his own leg.

Entranced by the music still, Rem brought her own hands down from her ears, and using the hand furthest from YN, she wiped away at the small tears she had.

Though, it was this closest hand she had free that YN paid the most attention to.

Closer, it moved to him.

Thinking she may be bracing to stand up, if only to get away from what might be overwhelming her, her hand instead moved more gently than it were if she were to stand back up.

YN: —?!

Yet, what her hand instead moved to do, had nearly caused YN to stand suddenly from pure disbelief that perhaps rivaled the sensation Rem currently still felt.

Rem, in her stupor from the sensation of hearing such a profound musical movement, had subconsciously, —or consciously, for YN did not know which, moved her hand to hold his.

YN: —?! —?!

Rem's hand felt delicate and soft, but ever so slightly weathered, but not calloused, which had to be the result from all the cleaning work Rem did at the Mansion. —Nonetheless, her palm was warm and tender, and her fingers were slender and smooth.

The only thing YN could manage to do though at this was freeze up, and let his face turn to a dark shade of red.

As the song progressed farther, he could feel Rem's finger tips slowly move to grip his hand gently as they wrapped around the side between his index finger and thumb. Soon, even her thumb did so on the other side of his hand.

Ever so slightly, Rem was convincing herself to hold YN's hand properly, rather than just laying her own on top of it.

YN was at a pure loss for words to the scene before him. Rem was still staring out into the gardens, the morning sun's light breaking through the tree's branches they were under, landing on her blue hair in small pillars of light, all while her hand was still coupled to YN's.

As the song progressed, YN couldn't believe that ultimately, this was a finite moment. The song was a longer one, but it would soon draw to a close, and so would this moment.

The way he currently was, with Rem at his side, —as close as she was, and holding his hand like this, YN believed if all time were to be frozen, all things were to remain as they were, where he was, would be perfectly fine.

Yet, with the song's eventual fade to nothingness, and the silence at the end of the track now present to Rem, she carefully removed the buds from her ears with her free hand. Taking her hand that was holding YN's downturned one, she gripped it to bring it up to her other hand, and handed off the ends of the headphones into his palm, and closed his fingers around them for him.

Not once, did Rem recoil her hand from his own, as if she did not mean to do this.

All her motions had completely shown that she did indeed wish to hold his hand.

After a moment longer of silence, as if in reflection, Rem spoke in a quiet, but otherwise happy voice.

Rem: Rem would like to thank YN-kun for this…

With that, Rem stood back up, ran a hand down her skirt to smooth it out, and slowly walked back to the main pathway of the garden. As the morning sun's dappled lights from the gaps in the tree branches danced upon as she moved, and eventually she became bathed in the golden light entirely as she emerged from the shade they had been in.

YN's body was still in one spot though, sitting, and unmoved from how he had been, leaving his hand just how Rem had left it. He could only traverse his gaze to follow her to where she went.

Her back to him, Rem spun back to face him, the rotation lifting the hem of her skirt ever-so, but at the same time and in the same way, it lifted her bangs of blue on her head which exposed both her eyes, letting the morning sun fully illuminating her face.

YN: — — —

Seeing both her eyes at once for the first time, YN realized this was something he hadn't yet experienced, which, only sent his heart into a flutter.

As these things settled though, Rem smiled more warmly to YN then she had thus yet, and after a moment of doing so, she turned herself again, and began walking back down the way they had come, back towards the Mansion.

In a near desperate tone, YN stood and tried to quickly follow behind her, lest she leave his sight, he for some reason feared she'd fade from existence, or he'd wake up and realize this was a dream.

YN: H-Hey, wait!

At his call, Rem turned her head back to him, smiling and happy still, and responded.

Rem: We will have to hurry back, as it is almost time to depart.

Trying to catch up still, YN haphazardly balled up his earphones in an effort to reach the maiden before him.

Unseen to him though, as she turned her gaze back to in front of herself, Rem's expression actually turned to a somber one.

Rem: — — —

Bringing a first up to her chest, Rem's newly troubled mind quarreled with itself.

Rem has no idea what came over her, but…

Tightening that fist, Rem forced herself to acknowledge what she had to admit here.

—It felt right. To hold his hand… Rem can only sense a pure innocence from him… Despite that smell upon him. Why though? Why must he have that awful aura about him? Rem would have never imagined interacting so intimately with someone who carried that about them.

Unknown to YN, this smell he had, one that had only ever marked the worst and most foul of people Rem had known in her life, was upon him. While not such a simple thing, it had been why the maid had been so slow to warm up to him, despite the strange and unexplainable draw the two had to admit they had for one-another.

One can only sense a most pure innocence from YN-kun despite that… Still, if only Rem could fully shake her doubts about him though, then… maybe…

Trailing her thoughts off as he approached her side, Rem forced a smile to dash away the feeling of melancholy strangling her chest.

At the same time his presence helped quell it, she could also feel it continue to fester by his presence nonetheless.

Rem: — — —

Rem's maiden heart, it seemed, was at an impasse as of yet.