"Mirrors can't eat people." The uneducated commoners usually retorted with this response when warned about the dangers of mirrors and staying a reasonable distance from them. Alas, particular mirrors CAN eat people, and mirror checkers arose to deal with them.

It all began when someone insulted Aphrodite's beauty and used a mirror to check her face. The divinity possesses an exceptional ability to hear a limited amount of words whenever someone invokes their name, so the goddess listened to the insult and cursed the mirror to swallow the heretic. Then Aphrodite gave life to this cursed mirror, allowing it to reproduce once it killed a victim! This event happened a thousand years ago, so one could imagine how many of these accursed mirrors exist now.

The kingdoms held an emergency summit to deal with this problem and agreed to fund a program to hire investigators to find these magic mirrors, and these officials became known as "mirror checkers." My specialty was my nose, which could smell these devices from a hundred feet away. My duties involved finding and taking custody of these magic mirrors before they harmed more innocent people.

My domain was the Ousligalla Kingdom, a minor but prosperous country in the middle of the Eowayor continent. The furthest distance from east to west was fifty thousand miles, but we needed the gnomes' magic airships for fast travel, or it would require months to reach those endpoints. Thankfully, the kingdom connected its provinces with steam-driven railroads, so I rode in horse-pulled carriages only half the time.

The Mirror Checker Agency received complaints of accursed mirrors, usually after they eat someone, and it sent a specialist to the supposed victim's location. Unfortunately, the agency lacked funding, and there weren't enough field agents. So I inadvertently accumulated a backlog of over a hundred case files across the kingdom to investigate, and I tried to act more efficiently by stringing the sites along the rail lines. However, that meant the rural areas took much longer between the initial complaint and my visit.

I recognized that each day's delay could result in another tragic death, but I lacked teleportation magic to speed up my travels. Thus, I organized my trips by the month and hit the sightings within each region.

Today was the beginning of June, and I took the steam rail to the Prairie Farmstead in the south. The train station stopped in the middle of the Loarnant Hills Province, some five thousand miles from my home base, but I chose the farmstead because the complaint had been outstanding for six weeks, and someone reported a second death at the same site. Thus, my agency kicked the case file to the top of my priority list, and I couldn't delay my inspection of the area.

Summer month just started, and I was already dripping wet in the sweltering heat. The train locomotive's discharge of superheated air from its steam engine only added to my misery. I hurriedly departed the train platform and took a descending escalator to the lower levels of the train station. I felt instant relief when we reached the underground floor as cool air circulated to reduce the temperature before the heated air exited the train station.

I looked up and studied the gold-colored glowstones illuminating the tunnel during my descent. The rail lines crossed bridges high above the uneven landscape, casting a looming shadow over the natives, animals, farms, and neighborhoods. Some noble brats rode these steam trains and wrote best-selling travel guides, and they pulled the strings to convince the government to connect each province within the kingdom using these railroads.

The noble houses undoubtedly benefitted from using their advanced knowledge of these construction plans to buy out commoners' properties along the route. But they also paved the way for building the lines and stations with minimal protest from residents. Moreover, the nobles standardized the train stations with escalators reaching the underground before providing waiting areas for carriages and wagons to send the travelers to their final destination.

Since I was a government worker, my employer paid for my travel expenses. Otherwise, my meager salary as a public servant would barely afford the train fare. Thus, I took advantage and rode a carriage on the government's dime.

Each cabin consisted of four rows of seating facing forward with equal space for luggage in the back. Horses pulled the public carriages while nobles used more exotic beasts of burden, including buffaloes, mammoths, and even tigers! I took a seat in the back row for two reasons: the nobles preferred the front seats closest to the exit, and my destination was the very last stop for this carriage, meaning I would be its final passenger.

Other passengers noticed my badge of a mirror with a black frame, and they hurriedly exited the cabin to avoid riding with me. Although I wore casual business attire of a long-sleeved button white shirt over navy slacks and black shoes, agency regulations required me to display my badge prominently. Unfortunately, the citizens treated the Mirror Checker Agency as taboo, and the more superstitious folks avoided its workers like the plague.

When I took my first carriage ride for a case, half the passengers disembarked upon seeing my badge, and I felt hurt then because I was serving the public, including these folks. But as I reduced my backlog and dealt with new case files, I slowly developed a thick skin and didn't mind their reactions to seeing my official badge.

Surprisingly, a young woman in her late teens stood before me while staring at my badge. She wore a light green dress with yellow and red floral patterns that accentuated her maiden figure, and her sweet scent tickled my nose. Her lovely, long golden hair and piercing blue eyes dazzled me, and I barely heard her words of introduction.

"I am Eliza Bensley," she introduced in a girlish voice with a strange accent and curtsied. "May I sit next to you?" the girl requested.

I stood up and bowed respectfully. "Please, milady." Part of my preparation for each case was to learn the name of the province's ruler I was visiting, and Baron Timothy Bensley was the local governor. Consequently, I presumed the girl was part of the governor's family and treated her as a noblewoman.

Eliza giggled and sat down. She stared at me for a few seconds before opening her mouth. "Isn't it poor manners not to introduce yourself?" The girl felt intrigued by my black hair and matching colored eyes with a hint of stars swirling inside, meaning I was an arcanist. Eliza judged my age as early twenties, meaning I entered the agency not too long ago because recruits received three years of training before graduating to fieldwork.

I pointed at my mirror badge and replied, "Agency regulations forbid us from disclosing our names during fieldwork. Since mirror checkers have poor reputations, my employer worried protesters would use our identifying information for evil purposes."

"Oh, my!" the girl gasped and clasped her hands. "I'm sorry that people try to hurt you for doing a public service." Eliza frowned at the foolish notion!

I shrugged helplessly. The government secretly tested for mirror checkers during our mandated annual checkups as teenagers, and I still don't know how they discovered my sniffing ability. When I applied for college during my senior year in high school, a stranger sat in my college advisor's office and handed me an official document: "Ousligalla Kingdom drafts Lucheng Tang to serve in the Mirror Checker Agency upon high school graduation, and no college or university will accept your application for higher education. You shall report for orientation on June 10, 2523."

"Why?" I asked while staring at Miss Tamara Hanson, my college advisor. However, she kept silent while avoiding my eyes.

"We confirmed your suitability for the position, and you know how important a mirror checker is to our country," the recruiter scolded. "If you refuse, we will arrest your entire family to serve as prison miners," he threatened.

"Fine," I spat out. "I'll show up for your damned orientation, so take those threats and shove it up your ass!" I stormed out of the office and returned to class. I ignored questions from my classmates when they asked which colleges I received acceptance from, and, eventually, I ended my casual friendships with everyone because I didn't want to inform them of my conscription to become a mirror checker.

Eliza waved her delicate hand before my face. "Sir, are you okay?"

"I was thinking about something," I answered before I checked my government-issued magi tablet. The screen showed I was three stops away from my destination. I noticed I was alone with the strange noble when I looked around the cabin. "When are you getting off?" I asked.

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"The same place as you," Eliza answered smugly.

"Huh?"

The girl pointed at the corner of my map; it listed Baron Timothy Bensley as my local contact once I completed my assignment. "That's my father. I heard about the two commoner deaths and wanted to visit the farmstead. But my father refused unless I accompanied you," Eliza explained.

"So you were waiting for me at the carriage stop," I said, arching my brows. "How did you know I would take this specific carriage?"

"Your badge is a dead giveaway; it pings your location, and I logged into the government's intranet to confirm your arrival. Besides, the agency sent a file identifying you by name and face, Mister Lucheng Tang." The noble girl puffed her chest.

I shivered because I suddenly imagined the mirror eating Eliza!

"Are you okay?" she asked as my face paled.

"I'm fine," I responded while politely brushing her hand aside. Although there was no chaperone inside the cabin, I assumed there were hidden cameras to catch me acting impolite toward the noble girl. My fieldwork helped me familiarize myself with their uses and hiding spots. I casually glanced at the tiny groove above the cabin door, where a camera took pictures of us periodically.

Once the carriage stopped and the driver yelled, "Prairie Farmstead," I opened the door, stepped out, and assisted Eliza in getting off the carriage. My training with the agency included noble etiquette because I often faced them during my interviews at work sites. Besides, I suspected Eliza was sent by her dad to track my movements because the Mirror Checker Agency could declare an emergency and take over the farmstead. Her presence would prevent me from using this power without cause.

The girl smiled politely and nodded her thanks. I surveyed my new surroundings and matched them with my tablet's map.

"That's north," Eliza pointed while peeking at my device. Her fingers fluttered in the air as if playing the piano before her lips turned into a triumphant smile. "We go that way!" she pointed toward our nine o'clock.

I peered at my magi map and confirmed her determination before marching in that direction. Although our location was a farmstead, it was surprisingly barren as we saw dirt fields overrun by weeds, and some crops to our east had wilted due to a lack of water. The barn and house to our north were eerily quiet, and I couldn't sense any living creatures within this area.

The house was a two-story wooden building with a dining room and kitchen on the ground level and small bedrooms upstairs. "Hello?" I called out after finding the front door unlocked and entering; I didn't worry about trespassing because my badge granted emergency authority to enter people's homes without permission.

Eliza followed me inside like a ghost, and I admired the girl's courage as her breathing remained stable.

My magi map included a blueprint of this house, so I followed it to check each room. The front entrance led to the dining room, which separated the kitchen with a small countertop in between them. The hallway led to a back exit at the end; the left atrium had a simple stairway to the upper floor, and the space behind it stored two umbrellas, a mop, a bucket, and a magi roomba that ran out of energy. Two doors along the side led to a full bathroom and a small closet stuffed with towels and cleaning supplies.

I hoped to find the magic mirror in the dining room or bathroom, but my luck proved rotten. I belatedly climbed the creaky steps while preparing for an ambush because my nose started twitching.

I held my arcano pistol in my right while my free hand readied a magic barrier.

*Phwoosh* An evil spirit rushed toward me, and I raised my shield like clockwork because I had experienced these encounters many times already.

*Buzz* My barrier encompassed the four corners from floor to ceiling, sealing the foul creature inside. The gray phantom slammed its fist against my magi shield, but the obstacle held up without trouble.

"What is that thing?" Eliza whispered while peeking over my left shoulder.

"That is the ghost of a former occupant of this house. When a victim of a devouring mirror rejects the heavens, they will remain soulbound at their place of death. I encounter enough of these ghosts to protect myself from them," I explained, "even though they appear in only 10% of the cases. So, we got lucky in that sense."

"What will you do with it?" she pondered with a frown.

I inserted a holy bullet into my pistol, took aim at the evil spirit, and dropped my shield. *Bam* My bullet dispersed crystallized holy water, and the salt gobbled the ghost's figure within seconds.

My target waved their hands and shook their body, but nothing could dispel the bullet from erasing the evil creature. Finally, they screeched before winking out of existence, leaving behind a tiny gray pebble. I carefully stored it in a clear bag and wrote the date, time, and location where I retrieved the stone. Then I slowly checked the rooms until I found the mirror in the main bedroom.

I raised my left hand again and cast Telekinesis to wrap a magic barrier around the cursed item. I manipulated my spell like a rope to pull it across the room. As the magic mirror hovered over the unmade bed, it suddenly came alive! Tendrils grew from the mirror's surface like a mustache, and a big mouth appeared beneath it. Saliva dripped from its razor-sharp teeth before it took a big bite of my magic barrier!

I took out my Item Box and sent a mana spike into it. The device instantly grew into a vortex in the middle of the room, and I created a barrier to wall off my side from the spiraling hole.

Suddenly, the magic mirror entered my Item Box, and I confirmed its addition to my Inventory. I pulled my mana out of the box, and the vortex reluctantly dissipated with a sigh.

I dropped the magi shield and sat cross-legged on the ground; I closed my eyes and meditated to recharge my mana pool.

I smelled Eliza's scent nearby as she sat beside me and waited until I recovered my energy. A part of me tensed up because this was the best time for her to strike during my moment of weakness if Eliza harbored ill intentions. To my relief, Eliza acted like the curious teenager she seemed. More importantly, she rested her head on my shoulder and dozed off!

I barely suppressed the chuckle threatening to leave my chest at the absurdity. Did I land in a rom-com without knowing it? However, I still worried about this girl because I felt something off about her but couldn't quite put my finger on it. But since Eliza didn't seem hostile, I was content to let her play. Nobles faced difficulties, and I thanked Baron Bensley for sending a representative to oversee my fieldwork.

After ten minutes, I completely recharged my spent mana, but the girl showed no sign of awakening from her beauty rest. Thus, I compromised by setting a half-hour alarm with my tablet. Unfortunately, I couldn't doze off like my companion because we were inside a haunted house, and it had a second victim. Thus, I worried that another vengeful ghost might appear. I passed the time visually checking the bedroom.

Although I completed my mission to capture the cursed mirror, I hoped to discover a trace of its progeny. Once the device reproduces, the parent and child will remain in the exact location temporarily before the new mirror leaves for another place. Typically, the child jumps out the open window or flies and lets the strong wind carry it afar.

Since these mirrors were magical and retained some intelligence, they could travel solo or sneak into a cart or trunk. Alternatively, they could hop into a person's sack and leave without notice. For the Prairie Homestead, there were two victims, meaning the parent likely created two child mirrors. Thus, there remained a decent chance the second kid stuck around.

Sure enough, my nose picked up something within the sheets. I watched a tiny mirror the size of my thumb lift a bedsheet and grow a dozen stumpy legs. It crawled like a caterpillar down the bedframe, pausing occasionally to sniff the air for movement.

I remained still like a stone and watched as the baby mirror searched for an exit. It hit the far corners of the room, tried the closet with no luck, and approached my direction since I blocked the doorway. The caterpillar felt reassured that the room held no danger and moved as if marching to a band. I waited patiently for the damn monster to get within range: 10 feet, 7, 5, now! I flipped open my Item Box and a spiral formed in mid-air.

The baby mirror recognized the danger and hurried turned tail. Too late! I latched onto it with my Telekinesis spell and watched the kid's feeble struggle with delight.

Suddenly, Eliza stirred awake. She watched in amazement while leaning on my shoulder as the tiny mirror slowly lost its grip and became airborne. *Whoosh* Once the monster entered my hole, I closed the lid and stowed my container.

"How did you know about the second mirror?" my companion asked with puzzlement.

"The second victim increased the odds of a baby mirror sticking around to accompany its parent. Normally, these monsters are solitary and leave the nest when they can. But when there's a second victim in the same place, the child stays because the original mirror monster won't eat a person for at least another month. Their weird biology requires the mirror to spend that long to digest a human victim," I explained.

"Interesting," Eliza hummed. She gingerly removed her head from my shoulder, and I rose first to help the girl get up.

I opened another tab in my magi tablet, corrected the number of mirror monsters on the electronic form to two, and handed a stylus to her. "I need your signature to confirm I took two mirror monsters into custody at the Prairie Farmstead," I noted.

Eliza accepted, made a neat and delicate signature on my tablet, and returned the stylus.

I clicked "enter" to send the completed form, and my folder turned from red to yellow, meaning my supervisor would review the case file before closing it.

"Please allow me to escort you home," I offered, but the noble girl waved her hand. "The baron's manor is far from the train station. "Let's go there, and we'll separate," she proposed.

"Sure!" I took the lead as we exited the bedroom but didn't lower my guard because other dangers might lurk around. Fortunately, no monsters appeared, and we departed the abandoned farmstead safely.

I hailed a carriage on my magi tablet, and we waited in the shade until the vehicle arrived a quarter hour later. During this period, the two of us kept silent because we didn't share much common interest besides the cursed mirrors, and I wasn't the type to chitchat either. However, I noticed Eliza glancing at me periodically as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

The carriage took us back to the train station, and I descended the cabin. Eliza put a happy smile on her face as she tearfully waved goodbye, and the vehicle drove off.

I waved back until the carriage disappeared on the horizon before taking the train back to my home base.