Warm water fills the tub Subin lays in as he looks around the bathroom. He was pleasantly surprised when the room had working plumbing, especially with how much of the technology he's seen so far appeared to be a mix of medieval and magical.
He wasn't going to complain though, it just means he has more things he can explore later, like how do the kitchens work? Do they have full ovens or are they the older stone ones?
Could he bake pastries in them? Or cakes? Or- wait.
Oh this would be a process to figure out he doesn't know the altitude they're at, or the humidity, and that could greatly impact things.
If no one around him knows there are ways he could test that maybe? For humidity at least he could make meringues and see how long it takes for them to get tacky.
He'd need to check what was in the food stores though, what if there weren't any eggs?
That.. would be a problem. There's not a lot of pastries or baked goods he knows off the top of his head that don't use eggs.
Do they have coffee here?
God, he really needs to figure out more about the actual world here.
Which would be easily done if he kept reading the journal, but the bath is comfortable.
He sighs, before turning over and looking around the room for where he set the book. It was a nice room, with tiled floors and what looked like a mix of wood paneling and wallpaper on the walls. The fixtures looked like a mix of brass and... honestly Subin wasn't sure, he didn't know much about interior design but it looked like some fancy mix between porcelain and granite?
It was definitely an older style, but not garish. More like one of those rooms in a well maintained historical house, if you ignored how large it was that is.
The journal was set on a stool by the base of the tub, made of dark stained wood and a red cushion.
He dabs his hand on the fabric beside the book to dry it before he picks it up, not wanting to get the pages wet. Flipping through it, he finds where he was before, at the list of the generals. This note seemed to be one where he would need to do more research on, and search the other entries in the journal for more information as each of the descriptions were short, and didn't contain much more than a vague description of the person's appearance and personality.
He doesn't have a plan to interact with any more of the generals until he gets a better understanding of the world itself so he can't put his foot in his mouth when speaking to them, so he skips to the next point for now.
'There are certain areas in the castle that are places only you and very few others can enter into, mainly just Harker. They are locked and only you are able to access the key, the others only enter under specific circumstances.
'The blueprints of the castle ground can show you where those rooms are, and the normal paths to them, but we have passages you can use to access them without others seeing you. Most of the secret pathways within the castle are open to any who can find them, as it became a bit of a competition between me and my generals for them to find all of the passages, and for me to continue adding new ones. The only ones that have restricted access are those to our chambers.
'Only Harker and myself can access those, and some are closed to Harker. The main room that is for you alone is your greenhouse.'
Subin pauses, staring at the line. There's a greenhouse here?
It could make sense but, thinking about the greenhouses he knows he doubts it's like them.
The castle itself, at least from the small amount he's seen, doesn't have anywhere near the same feeling as the massive glass structures from his world.
He knew older versions of greenhouses existed, but he doesn't know what they looked like or how they'd worked.
'This is a room you should check on as soon as possible. Many of the plants in there are either ones we give produce from to the stores, ones that have useful properties, or are ones that have been dying out as time passes.'
So the demon king is interested in environmental conservation? Another thing Subin wouldn't have pinged for this world or man.
'There is a book in the study that has a list of the plants I have collected, take that and the secret passage to check on them.
'The other rooms aren't any that require your attention at the moment, one is a storeroom for dangerous items, one is the war room, and the other is a spare bedroom.'
The note ends there, Subin frowning as he closes the journal. Some of those rooms felt a bit more important than the writer- should he start calling him Cephros?- made them out to be.
Because what do you mean a storeroom for dangerous items?
Subin sighed, sinking into the tub. The water was filled with small bubbles that were scented with something like lavender but almost sharp. He stared at the ceiling, the water up to his chin as he thought.
The war room was something that made sense, if it was anything like how the rooms were shown in movies, then it was just some room with a table for discussing how to move troops, and he can't fault a guy for wanting a room to himself. Especially if things are usually like earlier today.
Subin sighs, sinking into the tub, carefully keeping the book above the suds and water, and he stares at the mirror hanging on the wall.
It stretched from the ceiling to the floor, and the only thing that made him able to guess it was a mirror was the small reflective corner peeking out from behind the large sheet that was pinned to the wall to cover it.
He didn't understand what was so bad about them, and nothing in the journal so far had said anything about it.
Granted he had only read a few pages so far, which can you really blame him? This has been a very stressful situation so far, theres magic and this a whole different world, so go ahead sue him for getting more stressed while reading.
Water splashes on the floor as Subin climbs out and wraps himself in a towel. Frowning, he walks up to the mirror and reached for the sheet.
Everything so far has been him just listening, listening to what Harker said, listening to the journal, and yes some of it has turned out fine, but Subin wants answers.
This - figuring out the mirrors - feels like something he can do for himself. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? It's not like they're covered because theres something in them... right?
He pauses a hand gripping the fabric at the mental image of something jumping out as he rips the sheet off. A thing of teeth and claws ready to drag him into some mirror-world.
No. No he's just letting his imagination get away from him. If there was something dangerous Harker would have definitely told him. Especially if Cephros is regularly disoriented when this happens.
Having made up his mind, he rips the sheet down and stares wide eyed at the mirror ready for something to happen.
But… nothing does.
All that's there is a man who looks… tired. Subin reaches up to touch his face, and the man follows suit.
He… looks nothing like how he did before. His hair is lighter, and longer, wet brown strands cling to his face and down his neck, and it looks strange compared to his short black hair from before.
His skin is darker, now a well-tanned tone, and small freckles scatter across his cheekbones. His face shape is sharper, his nose is hooked, and looking closer he can see the resemblance with Harker. Their noses were pretty similar.
He meets the brown eyes of his new self in the mirror, and at least the color is the same. The hooded eyes are new, but.. Fine?
It feels strange, knowing that he is staring at himself but seeing the body of a stranger.
Turning away slightly, Subin grabs the set of clothes Harker laid out for him and begins putting them on. Halfway through he realizes his mistake, as a set of buttons and hooks running down his back become completely out of reach. He's no more flexible here than he was before, which means he definitely cannot reach all of them on his own.
Maybe he can hook them first and then slip it on? Subin pulls the vest off and stares at it contemplating.
He could try slipping it on, but there's the possibility of getting stuck with the vest half over his head.
Taking a deep breath, he sighs and then calls out sheepishly.
"Harker? Are you there?"
There's a moment of silence where Subin worries the man isn't there and he'll need to search for him in the undershirt and pants before Harker's voice replies.
"Yes My Lord. Do you require assistance?"
"Yes please."
Subin turns to the door when it opens, and he nearly laughs at the sheer absurdity of Harker's look on his face. The man looks appalled at the state of Subin's outfit, immediately taking the vest from Subin's hands.
He moves quickly, gently guiding Subin's arms out of the way as he buttons the vest and then pins the overcoat to his shoulder and hip in a way that Subin would have gotten incredibly wrong if he tried it himself.
His hair is gently pulled out from under his shirt, and the feeling Subin is beginning to correlate with magic washed over him again. He turns his eyes to the mirror, watching Harker closely.
Warm air rushes over his head as Harker gently moves his hands over Subin's hair like a dryer. His face is full of concentration, as one hand dries and the other is gently brushing away tangles. Free from the weight of the water, a slight wave shows in his hair, the ends curling just slightly upwards.
Having someone take care of him like this felt strange. The only people who had done this before were his parents and the partners he'd had in life. The attentiveness on Harker's face reminded him of when he was lectured by a girlfriend for an hour for using the wrong conditioner type for his hair.
A quiet laugh escapes his lips at the memory, it was such a stupid fight that he can't even remember the full thing, and the sound snaps Harker out of his sole focus of Subin's hair.
"What is it m-" Harker's voice cuts off suddenly as his eyes meet Subin's in the mirror, and his expression twitched showing a mix of fear and concern.
"D- Did I forget to cover that?" He whispers. "I am so - forgive me-"
"Harker," Subin interrupts before the man can beg his forgiveness, "I took it off."
"You did?" Harker asks, his confusion clear. "Before you've always-"
"Yes, I wanted to look at myself." He feels a bit bad cutting Harker off again, but this feels like a conversation that as long as he keeps it short and simple will work better.
"Do…" The man's face slowly returns to the calm and neutral look he usually has, "you feel fine?"
Subin lifts his head to look straight in the mirror and chews on the inside of his lip. Harker glances at Subin himself instead of the reflection.
"It.. will take some getting used to I think," that felt like both the right thing to say, and the truth, "but if anything… I need to get used to it, don't I?"
He watches as Harker blinks then looks down, "I suppose you are right, My Lord." Subin frowns at the use of the title, but before he can say anything Harker pats his shoulder gently.
"If I may be so bold, at least this time you almost look like yourself again." The words send a shoot of panic through Subin, did Cephros's appearance change every time he dies? Is that why the mirrors were covered? He lived over and over with this feeling of otherness when staring at himself?
Before Subin can spiral into a full panic at the implications, Harker's voice startles him. It's full of warmth, and there is a small smile on his face.
"It's nice to see."