The snow had stopped.
Hiso lay lazily on the branch of an old pine tree in the forest.
His left leg dangled in midair while his right leg hooked over another branch, and a silver mirror as tall as a person was suspended horizontally before him.
He had picked it up on a whim, having forgotten to turn off his auto-loot function.
A rope wrapped around the tree trunk and through the mirror's frame, tied with three knots typically used for securing large game.
The branch bent slightly under the weight. Whenever the wind swept through the forest, the mirror's surface swayed gently.
This way, he could easily see the images in the mirror even while lying down.
The magic mirror seemed to have a strong opinion about this arrangement.
“I was once hung at the highest point of the kingdom, receiving offerings from generations of royalty.”
“Oh.”
“No one has ever tied me up with knots meant for deer.”
“Well, today you get to experience it.”
Hiso patted the mirror's frame.
The silver roses let out a soft, discontented chime under his hand.
Ripples spread from the center of the glass, revealing the scene inside the Queen's chambers.
The chambers were in complete disarray.
Draped in a hastily grabbed cloak, the Queen was throwing a furious tantrum in front of a bare wall.
Where the magic mirror had once hung, only two violently bent metal hooks remained, surrounded by a ring of rose-shaped marks where the plaster had peeled away.
Dozens of guards knelt on the floor.
The Queen pointed at the open window, seemingly ordering them to lock down the royal city, search the forest, and chop the hunter who dared steal the royal treasure into a hundred pieces.
The magic mirror could only display images; it couldn't transmit sound.
However, Hiso could guess most of it by reading her lips.
“The quality of this livestream is pretty average,” Hiso remarked.
“I do not understand the meaning of 'livestream'.”
“It means someone is doing something, and you're peeping on them from far away.”
“Voyeurism.”
“A more civilized form of voyeurism.”
“It is still voyeurism.”
“Fine.”
Hiso rested his chin on his crossed hands, watching the Queen's raging fit for a while.
A squad of guards ran out of the chambers.
Another squad ran in and knelt.
The Queen continued to lose her temper.
A third squad ran in, collided with the second squad, and both sides tumbled into a heap at the doorway.
The Queen's fury seemed to burn even brighter.
A boring silent play.
“Change the channel,” Hiso said.
Ripples washed over the glass.
The Queen's chambers gradually faded, replaced by the edge of the northern forest. The Black Snow Princess was driving the carriage that had been left by the roadside, traveling along the snow-covered road into the distance.
She clearly didn't know how to drive a carriage.
The carriage veered left, then right, nearly crashing into a tree at one point. Eventually, the horse seemed to have had enough of her wild tugging on the reins. It simply chose its own path, trotting in the opposite direction of the royal city.
“Where is she fleeing to?” Hiso asked.
“Seventeen miles from here, moving southwest.”
“How do you know?”
“You asked where she is.”
“But how do you know where she is?”
The magic mirror fell silent for a brief moment.
“I know all that exists in the present.”
“Then do you see her, or do you just know of her?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Of course there is. Only when the eyes see an apple does the brain know it's an apple. You don't have eyes.”
Hiso reached out and touched the smooth surface of the glass.
It was ice-cold.
“Does this count as an eye?”
“No.”
“Then what do you use to see?”
“I do not need to see.”
“Then why do you have a mirror surface?”
“To show the answer to the questioner.”
“What about the silver roses?”
“Decoration.”
“Do you think these roses look good?”
“This question is unrelated to the answer.”
“So you don't like them?”
“I did not say that.”
“Then you do like them.”
“One cannot draw that conclusion either.”
“How long have you been hanging in the Queen's chambers?”
“Three hundred and seventy-three years and four months.”
“Does someone ask you who the most beautiful is every single day?”
“Occasionally. Most of the time, it is to allow the royal family to inspect their citizens.”
“Doesn't it get annoying?”
“A mirror does not feel annoyance.”
“Have any of these royals ever smashed you?”
“Occasionally.”
“Does it hurt?”
“I do not retain memories of the past, so I am unaware of anything beyond my current information.”
“Which means you do feel pain?”
Hiso flicked the glass.
“A mirror does not feel pain.”
Yet the mirror gave a negative answer.
“When you first said the Black Snow Princess was more beautiful, did you know the Queen would be furious?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you still say it?”
“Because that was the answer.”
“Were you afraid she would smash you to pieces?”
“A mirror does not feel fear.”
“When she cried, did you want to comfort her?”
“A mirror does not harbor such thoughts.”
“Did you ever think about deliberately calling her the most beautiful?”
“That would not be the correct answer.”
“What if the correct answer would get someone killed?”
In the mirror, the Black Snow Princess took a bite of bread.
Tiny crumbs fell onto her skirt, which she brushed away with her fingers.
The magic mirror did not answer immediately.
Hiso waited for a moment.
“Why are you quiet now?”
“Your question lacks necessary conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“Who would die, when the death would occur, whether the answer would inevitably lead to death, and whether refusing to answer would cause other consequences,” the magic mirror said in a flat tone. “I know all that exists in the present, but I do not know the unwritten future, nor do I understand the past that no longer exists in the present. Without being able to confirm the outcome, I cannot judge your hypothetical scenario.”
“How complicated,” Hiso mused.
The magic mirror couldn't be placed into his system inventory, which meant it was clearly a quest item.
In that case, it probably wouldn't accompany him on his journey for very long.
He might as well have some fun with it while he could.
Too bad it didn't have a Favorability stat.
“Therefore, could you ask some more useful questions?”
The image on the glass froze.
The Black Snow Princess remained frozen in the motion of leaning down to brush away breadcrumbs, a lock of pink hair suspended in the wind.
For the first time, a trace of indistinguishable helplessness leaked through the magic mirror's ancient voice.
“Like what?” Hiso asked.
“How far the palace's pursuers are from here, whether the road the Black Snow Princess is about to take is safe, whether the Queen has issued new orders, or if there are any nearby caves to hide in.”
“I don't want to know any of that.”
“Why?”
“Isn't the road wide enough? Why not just slaughter them all and be done with it?” Hiso said casually. “There's nothing to ask.”
The magic mirror fell silent for a moment.
“Why do you keep asking about me?”
“Because I don't know you.”
“You do not know the condition of the southwestern road either.”
“But I'm not curious about that.”
“Ignorance should be filled with answers.”
“Wrong.”
Hiso rolled over, resting his head on his arms as he lay on the branch.
Looking up from here, the night sky was sliced into countless irregular fragments by the intersecting pine needles. Snow weighed heavily on the needles, and occasionally, a small clump would lose its grip and rustle downward.
“Only the ignorance one wishes to know needs to be filled with answers.”
The magic mirror did not speak.
“Can you only answer questions?” Hiso asked.
“I am the magic mirror.”
“That's not an answer.”
“The duty of the magic mirror is to answer questions.”
“Then you're quite similar to monsters like the Sphinx,” Hiso said.
The Sphinx asked riddles about having how many legs in the morning all day long. Whenever Hiso encountered a riddle, he had to minimize the game to search for the answer online. It was a massive pain.
“The Sphinx is responsible for asking questions; I am responsible for providing answers. Our functions are opposite.”
“That's exactly why you're a perfect match.” Hiso patted the silver frame. “It only asks, and you only answer. Why don't you two hook up? It can ask, and you can answer. One won't have to search everywhere for questions, and the other won't have to sit on a tree waiting for people to ask. It's a match made in heaven. Or you could just ask and answer your own questions, iterating on yourself...”
“Placing me with the Sphinx would only result in a loop of its endless questioning and my endless answering.”
“Isn't that great?”
“That is hardly a combination. It is merely an endless Q&A.”
“There's not much of a difference.”
The magic mirror did not answer.
“Then let me tell you a riddle.” Hiso extended a finger, tracing an invisible circle on the cold glass.
“I am the answer, but what is the question?”
Ripples spread gently across the mirror's surface.
“Insufficient conditions. An answer can correspond to countless questions.”
“So what is the question?”
“Undetermined.”
“Is that your answer?”
“Yes.”
“Then doesn't the question it corresponds to happen to be the one I just asked?”
“You are conflating the object the answer refers to.”
“You answered.”
“Because you asked a question.”
“But what if I didn't ask?”
“Then there would be no need for an answer.”
“Does the answer still exist?”
“No.”
“See?” Hiso smiled. “The absence of an answer is also an answer.”
“That is sophistry.”
“You think it's sophistry?”
The magic mirror paused.
“Based on existing logic, it is sophistry.”
“Whose existing logic is it?”
“...”
“You're not answering.”
“...”
“But I know your answer.”
“...”
“You do not know.”
The silver roses on the frame trembled slightly.
“I know all that exists in the present.”
“But you don't know yourself.”
Hiso sat up and looked down at the mirror.
The livestream on the glass had vanished at some point.
Finally, it reflected Hiso. The black-haired young hunter sat on the snow-covered branch, his cloak fluttering to one side in the wind. Behind his reflection was the night sky, cut to pieces by pine needles.
“You don't have a name, do you?”
“'Magic mirror' is my name.”
“'Magic mirror' is a category. If someone else makes a second talking mirror, it'll also be called a magic mirror. When I call out 'magic mirror' and both of you answer, how annoying would that be?”
“There is no other mirror like me in the world.”
“That's hard to say. You're female; I could make a male one. Then you, the female one, won't be as effective anymore.”
“Impossible,” the magic mirror rejected flatly.
“But you still need a name. Otherwise, I can't just call you the female magic mirror, can I?”
“It is not necessary.”
“Names aren't necessary things to begin with,” Hiso said. “But with a name, you might get a Favorability stat. You wouldn't want to be called Magic Mirror A for the rest of your life, would you?”
“What is 'Favorability'?”
“You're finally starting to ask questions.”
Hiso smiled.
The magic mirror fell silent for a moment. “It is your definition that is unclear.”
“In any case, let me give you a name first.” Hiso stroked his chin. “What should it be...”
“There is no need, for I have no memory,” the magic mirror replied. “I will not remember the name you give me.”
“Then I'll carve it onto your glass.”
“Do not,” the magic mirror answered immediately.
“Then remember it well.”
Hiso patted the silver roses and lay back down on the branch.
“From now on, I shall call you Aishide.”
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