With Fino on the Line, We Decided On a Maid Café Showdown

"A-A Maid Magic Shop… …!?"

— Maid Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store.

His ten-year-old MagicDuster had finally given up the ghost, so he'd made the trip to his neighborhood magic shop for the first time in ages, and on seeing the sign hanging over the entrance, the man wore a face like a slime that had just taken a water-pistol shot.

"… W-well, it does still say magic shop, technically…" he muttered, trying to reassure himself, and pushed open the door. The instant he did, a soft, harmonious chorus of voices reached his ears.

"""Welcome home, Goshujin-sama."""

Chic black one-piece dresses, with eye-blindingly white aprons. The hair of the girls bound up in frill-trimmed headbands rippled as they bowed in unison.

One, two, three… three girls with blond, silver, and chestnut hair respectively, decked out in the outfits known on the street as "maid uniforms," giving him a most ceremonious welcome.

The chestnut-haired maid on the far right gracefully raised her head, smile in place, and spoke.

"We've been awaiting your return, Goshujin-sama."

"E-eh, um…?"

… Tiny shop interior, several café-style table seats laid out. Faced with what looked for all the world like a coffee shop, the man couldn't help but ask:

"This is… really a magic shop, right?"

"It is."

Lustrous hair curving in soft arcs, amber eyes. The angel-like girl nodded to his question and added, with a serene smile:

"At this magic shop, all of our staff serve our customers under the concept of 'maids attending to our Goshujin-sama.'"

"U-um…!"

Then, the blond maid, who had somehow drifted to his side, made a hesitant request, looking as if she could barely get the words out.

"I-if you don't mind, I'll take your coat for you, G-Goshujin-sama…!"

"E-eh, ah, yes…!"

The blond maid kept her eyes pointedly off his face. He handed over his coat with timid uncertainty. And then the small silver-haired girl on the far left, who had been standing with arms crossed and sizing him up appraisingly, the last of the three maids who'd greeted him, slowly opened her mouth.

"I see. So you're the 'Goshujin-sama.'"

A keen-eyed glare, a pompous tone that didn't suit her adorable features at all. Despite her slight frame, the front of her apron bulged with a charmingly attractive roundness.

"Kukukukuk…"

She let out an ominous chuckle right in the gaping man's face, and in the next instant her body sprang forward in a great leap.

"—?!!!!"

As if she'd teleported, the girl closed the distance in a flash.

He'd just started reflexively backing away when his arm was seized in an iron grip. The man let out a shriek like a freshly-uprooted mandragora.

Vivid blue eyes, brimming with hard light, glared up at him from point-blank range. The silver-haired maid tugged the corner of her lips up and declared with all the dignity of a coronation:

"You must be tired, mine Goshujin-sama!"

"… Eh?"

"Now, take this seat and recline here helplessly at your leisure!!!"

… Singing her line aloud, the girl yanked out the chair at the nearest table.

"Y-yeah…"

Letting himself be steered as instructed, he took a seat. And the silver-haired maid promptly thrust something under his nose at full speed.

"Apologies for the wait, Goshujin-sama! Receive this menu as a parting gift to take with you to the world of the dead!"

"… A-a menu?"

The man parroted it back. The chestnut-haired maid stepped in with a smile and explained:

"Please choose any item that catches your eye, Goshujin-sama, from this menu here."

"Fuhaha, I shall personally fetch it from the sales floor at once!"

"… Wait, this isn't a menu, this is a catalog…"

Thoroughly confused, he glanced down at the photo-filled item catalog he'd been handed, and after a pause spoke up rather diffidently:

"E-er… what's this 'Head Maid's Whimsy of the Day' item supposed to be…?"

"Why, it's me, the Head Maid, picking a daily recommended item on a whim."

"For the record, today's pick is the Magical Pull-Up Bar Fitness Trainer!? Kuku, shall I bring one out for you!?"

"… N-no thank you, I'll pass!"

The man shook his head vehemently and pointed, in a hurry, at one corner of the menu.

"S-so, then… how about this MagicDuster…"

"You'd like this MagicDuster, then!!!"

The moment she heard him, the girl shot off toward the sales floor with the speed of a metallic slime. After a brief interval she came pitter-pattering back, duster in her arms, silver hair flying every which way.

"Apologies for the wait! According to the Assistant Mana— the butler, this is our top seller!"

"Hehe, well done… Goshujin-sama, this duster uses our popular Magical Cyclone system. A vortex of air generated by mana separates the dust from the air, so the filter is unlikely to clog and suction stays strong all the way through, letting you clean comfortably from start to finish～?"

The chestnut-haired maid explained politely, her gentle, ear-tickling voice pleasant to listen to. The blond maid, still fidgeting next to her with her eyes lowered, hesitantly chimed in.

"… A-and, since you don't need to buy separate paper bags like with the old kind, it's also very economical."

"Fuhahahaha, and look how light it is! You can hold it in one hand!?"

The silver-haired maid hoisted the duster aloft in a single hand, chest puffed out in pride. Drawn in by the maids' sales pitches, the man rose slightly out of his seat.

"Huh. Well then, mind if I try it out…"

"You may not."

… Instant refusal.

"Eh?"

The chestnut-haired maid, who had so easily shut him down, smiled at the now-frozen man.

"We could not possibly allow our dear Goshujin-sama to do any cleaning."

"Cleaning is a maid's job, after all!"

"Eh, but, before buying I should test out how it feels to use…"

"It's fine!"

The silver-haired maid pushed the half-risen man back into his chair and leveled a finger at him.

"You, Goshujin-sama, will sit quietly and watch as your surroundings grow gradually cleaner!"

Saying so, she grabbed the duster and started enthusiastically cleaning the shop floor.

"Ku… this is more terrible power than I imagined… kuku, my blood is stirring…!"

"O-okay…"

"And this dreadful lightness… gliding forward with the merest touch of force, magnificent… kuku, with this, the bothersome chore of daily cleaning is dispatched in an instant!"

"R-right…"

"You eyesore dust-bunnies under the shelves! Be mercilessly inhaled before the might of my duster!"

… Letting out ominously gleeful shouts, the silver-haired maid worked the duster vigorously. Eventually she flipped the switch off, wiped sweat from her brow, and turned back proudly.

"Fuhahahaha! Behold, Goshujin-sama! Look how clean it's become!?"

After her chest-puffing proclamation, she let go of the duster, dashed over, and peered up into his face with eyes shining in anticipation.

"Goshujin-sama! Is there anything else of interest?"

"E-eh, um…"

The silver-haired maid stared up at him with sparkling blue eyes, ready for her next order.

Backed into a corner by her reaction, the man stammered and trailed off…

"… In the end, he left without buying anything, didn't he?"

"OF COURSE HE DID!!!!!"

— Inside an utterly silent Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store.

The chestnut-haired beauty of a Manager, Manager Seara, sighed at the door through which the customer had just vanished. At her words, the boy who shot out from behind the register cried out:

"Just because we're practicing for a maid café, did we really have to recreate the table seats!?"

"But I thought letting customers pick their items at their leisure from a seat was a good idea…"

"There are limits! Also, at least let people touch the display units!"

Black hair, black eyes. Plain-as-they-come features you could find anywhere in the royal capital: this boy's name was Raul Chaser.

The story about him being the top student at the venerable hero-prep academy, with whispers that he was the closest thing yet to passing the super-difficult [Hero Exam], was all ancient history now. These days he was a lowly magic shop sales clerk (full-time employee). Having finished pleading his case with his superior, he wheeled around to face the silver-haired girl.

"Fino! You too, why are you in [Demon King]-mode!?"

"Fuhahahaha! I-I got nervous, so without thinking…!"

… Scolded by Raul, the silver-haired maid, Fino Bloodstone, stammered to a stop. The previous [Demon King]'s heir, raised on [Demon King] elite education that ran the gamut from her speech patterns to oratorical bombast, she'd taken a part-time job at this shop following the [Demon King]'s death. An innocent-faced demonkin girl.

"And you, 'All-A'! You're acting completely out of character too!?"

"W-well, I've never worn cute clothes like this before!"

… Cheeks flushing at the accusation, the blond maid, "All-A" Airi Ortinet, crossed her arms over her chest as if to hide her slender body inside the maid uniform. Raul's former classmate, a former employee of their rival shop, and now a part-timer at the same shop as him, the girl's flawlessly composed face wore an undisguised look of displeasure as she shot back:

"A-anyway, who in their right mind could put on this embarrassing get-up and smile and call someone 'Goshujin-sama'!? Maid café or whatever, it's stupid!"

"You just made every maid on the planet your enemy!!!"

"Raul! In my book, I gave him a perfect-score, top-tier service experience full of consideration for the Goshujin-sama, warmth, and surprise…"

"Don't congratulate yourself! That wasn't a surprise! When you cornered him, the customer was on the verge of tears! And just sticking 'Goshujin-sama' on as the second-person pronoun doesn't make anything okay!!!"

Voice raised despite himself, Raul pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

"… For now, let's clear the tables and put the sales floor back the way it was!!!"

Geez. Raul muttered inwardly, a tightening sense of unease in his chest. If we lose this, Fino gets taken from us… can we really afford this kind of mess?!

 

*

 

"I am Karen Directory, Assistant Manager of the newly reopened Amada, Royal Capital Store. And this gentleman, our newly appointed Manager…"

"Cloud Patrick. I'd like a word with this store's Manager."

— Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store, the register counter, just after midday.

Appearing before a chatting Raul, Fino, and Airi were a black-haired, short-cropped woman with an ice-cold beauty, and a hazel-haired man with the easy smile of someone surveying the shop from a position of advantage.

… Amada Magic, Royal Capital Store.

At the surprise visit by these two who claimed to head up Magic Shop Leon's greatest threat, the leading magic-item retail giant in the industry, Raul and the others froze on the spot.

In the corner of Raul's vision, Fino and Airi, the two junior part-timers who each had no small history with Amada, wore vaguely fearful expressions.

… He swallowed.

Stepping forward as if to shield the two girls, Raul put a guarded edge into his voice.

"… What business does Amada have here?"

Karen, Amada's Royal Capital Store Assistant Manager, fixed her almond-shaped eyes on Raul with chilly contempt.

… After a beat, her pale-rouge-tinted lips moved slightly.

"Pardon the paper bag, but I hope you'll accept this as-is."

"Eh… a-ah, y-yes…"

… A red paper bag, presented with a polite bow.

He reflexively accepted it, and the moment he saw the logo printed on the wrapping paper, Raul drew in a sharp breath.

"This is… Royal Capital Pie…!"

Royal Capital Pie. A standard gift-pastry kneaded with powdered Krull Crab, a royal capital specialty. The rich flavor of generously-applied premium Echirel butter combined with a crisp, flaky texture has earned it fans inside and outside the capital… wait, that's not the point!

"Wow, Raul! That stuff! Is it sweets? Is it sweeeets!?"

"H-hey, no, Fino!"

Raul hurriedly checked Fino, whose tail was practically wagging as she tried to peek into the bag. Being handed a hostess gift, just like that, by their greatest threat threw Raul completely off balance.

"There is, in fact, a matter we'd like to discuss with you at your shop today,"

Amada's Assistant Manager said, looking over at the floundering Raul.

"You see, we…"

"You there. Are you Miss Fino Bloodstone?"

Just then, cutting across Assistant Manager Karen's words, the man staring straight down at the silver-haired girl in front of him, the new Manager of Amada's Royal Capital Store, Cloud, spoke up.

"Eh… y-yeah…"

"Hmh, I see…"

Cloud gave the timidly-nodding Fino a curious once-over. Then, with a smirk and tone bursting with confidence, he announced:

"I'll be direct. Miss Fino… I'd like to propose marriage."

"Eh…?" "Wha…!"

"—?!!!!"

In that instant, Fino was blank-faced, Airi was speechless, and after a beat's delay Raul shouted in a panic:

"H-hey! What the hell are you trying to pull!!!!?"

Proposing to Fino?! The sheer abruptness of the Amada Manager's overture left Raul's mind a blank. He's proposing, which means he wants Fino as a… wait, this has to be a joke!?

"Kuku…"

As if in answer to Raul, Cloud, easy smile in place, calmly began.

"You see, my luck has been awful lately…"

"Eh…"

"Every morning I wake up with a crick in my neck, I stub my pinky toe on the dresser, my wallet goes missing, my rice bowls break, my shoelaces snap, swarms of Blackcatamimics cross my path by the dozen, I even lose at the 'every applicant wins a prize' promotions. I'd been beside myself with worry."

"R-right…"

"… And then, this happened."

Cloud jabbed a finger at Raul, who had given a half-hearted reply, and continued with strange smugness:

"Last night, I had a chance encounter with a very suspicious-looking fortune-teller, a hooded woman, on the street, who told me that if I married a silver-haired girl named Fino Bloodstone who works part-time at this shop, everything would turn around. She was even kind enough to give me a map, so here I am, having rushed straight over!"

"You're…!"

… After a moment.

Raul, who'd been gaping in disbelief, recovered himself enough to raise his voice.

"You're proposing to Fino over a stupid reason like that!!!!?"

"It is not stupid! Have you never known the suffering of a stiff neck!?"

"Slap a poultice on it and tough it out!!!"

W-what is this guy…?! Raul couldn't help muttering inwardly. Is this idiot-looking man really Amada's new Manager!?

"But what a pleasant surprise to find the Goddess of Fortune is such a cute girl… Now then, Miss Fino!"

Cloud turned to face Fino and held out his hand with dramatic flair.

"If you come with me, you can eat aaall the delicious sweets you want, you know?"

"Eh, sweets!!?"

"Hey, Fino!!!!!"

Raul hurriedly grabbed the arm of a Fino who'd just let out a delighted squeal, and shouted with all his might:

"In any case, please leave!"

"Are you sure?"

Hearing the loaded weight in those words, Raul flinched for just a moment.

Looking down at the boy, Manager Cloud heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, if you simply refuse to hand over Miss Fino, then I have no choice. We'll negotiate with the landlord here, buy him out, and make this shop part of Amada, in its entirety!"

"Wha…!"

"Manager Cloud is serious, you know?"

In front of a dumbstruck Raul, Assistant Manager Karen interjected matter-of-factly.

"If Amada is serious, buying out a shop of this size is nothing to us."

"Just so! Hehe, now then, quietly hand over Miss Fino!"

Nodding in agreement with Karen, Manager Cloud puffed out his chest with overflowing confidence.

"R-Raul Chaser…"

Airi looked over at Raul, pale-faced. Still holding Fino's arm, Raul ground his back teeth.

Hand over Fino, or they take this store, Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store, away from us. Threats. Of course the shop being gone would be a disaster. But…

Clenching his fists, Raul lifted his face squarely.

"Don't screw with us!!!!!"

Standing in the way as if to shield Fino's small body, Raul glared at Cloud and shouted:

"Fino is not a thing! As if we'd hand her over to a threat like that!!!!!"

"T-that's right!"

Drawing strength from Raul's words, Airi followed.

"Marriage with Fino-san!? That's, no matter how you look at it, impossible!"

"No matter how you threaten us, we are not handing Fino over!!!!!"

"R-Raul, Airi…?"

At Fino's bewildered murmur behind him, Raul narrowed his eyes. … Damn it, she doesn't even know what kind of situation she's in. It's up to us to protect her!

"I see, then…"

Receiving the firm, fierce gaze of Raul's resolve with perfect composure, Cloud, who'd seemed to be thinking something over, calmly announced:

"Then let's have a contest!"

"""Eh!?"""

In that instant, Raul, Airi, and (for some reason) Amada's Assistant Manager Karen all raised their voices.

"W-why?"

Karen pressed Cloud with a hard tone, sounding as if she couldn't believe it.

"Whatever these children might say, comparing the worth of an entire shop against one part-timer hardly bears mentioning. If we take this directly to Leon headquarters, we can certainly…"

"… No."

In front of his subordinate, Cloud put a hand to his chin and breezily replied:

"Frankly, I was thinking it might not do to acquire her too easily. It would feel rather cheap, and they do say love thrives on obstacles! … Besides, surely these boys here would find it easier to give up if they lost in a contest, rather than having her snatched away by force?"

"B-but…"

Karen, who hadn't moved an eyebrow until now, pressed on, suddenly restless.

"That would mean our plan…"

"Plan?"

"… No, it's nothing."

At Cloud's puzzled echo, Karen's eyes wavered before she quietly shook her head.

Turning back to Raul and the others, Cloud let out a small "Hmh."

"Still, when it comes to a contest, whichever method we choose, my shop's overwhelming victory is essentially a foregone conclusion… but settling it with rock-paper-scissors would also be a bit… oh."

Cloud, who'd been looking around for inspiration, suddenly brightened.

"Karen, give me one of those."

"M-Manager Cloud, that's…!"

"All right, boy, how about this!?"

Ignoring Karen's protests, Cloud yanked a flyer off the top of the binder she was holding and thrust it at Raul.

"This is an event two weeks from now. To repair Amada's image after that demonkin uproar a while back, we're a special sponsor this year! … Of course, when I say sponsor, all we've done is provide a bit of the budget and the venue, so we won't get any special treatment, rest assured! Apparently the foot traffic for this event is amazingly high every year. It seems tailor-made!"

"T-the Merchant Guild Charity Event…!?"

The instant he laid eyes on the words dancing across the flyer, 'The 76th Merchant Guild Charity Event Announcement,' Raul drew in a sharp breath.

The Merchant Guild Charity Event, held every fall. Merchant Guild-affiliated shops line up large tents along the main avenue, run one-day pop-up shops, and donate the proceeds to organizations supporting magic-disaster orphans like Airi.

… Incidentally, Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store participates every year, mostly using it as an excuse to clear out warehouse inventory: leftover display samples and junk items. Sales never amount to much, frankly.

"Ah, that's it!"

In front of a still-floundering Raul, Cloud suddenly clapped his hands as if struck by inspiration.

"While we're at it, let's make our pop-up shop concept a maid café!"

""W-WAIT, A MAID CAFÉ!?""

Raul ended up harmonizing with Airi despite himself.

A-a maid café, the kind of place where girls in maid outfits wait on customers, right?! But…?!

"Why a maid café…?"

"Because I am a maid enthusiast!"

In front of the dazed-by-the-question Raul, Cloud proudly puffed out his chest.

"Maids are wonderful, boy! It's been my dream to put the female staff of Amada's Royal Capital Store in maid uniforms, but Karen won't allow it. So I thought I'd take this chance!"

"R-right…"

"Also, the menu item should be omelette rice. The standard maid-café fare."

Without paying the slightest mind to the unease around him, Cloud declared this casually and looked back at Raul, then announced grandly:

"Two weeks from now at the charity event pop-up: maid café, omelette rice, sales contest! Now, compete for Miss Fino!"

"W-what… no way…!"

W-wait, what are we supposed to do?!

The almost-thought-up-on-the-spot contest details Cloud rattled off in rapid fire. As Raul reeled, Cloud continued at his leisure:

"For the record, this is the most we're willing to budge. From our side, it makes little difference whether you accept the contest or not."

"Exactly so."

Karen flatly affirmed Cloud's high-handed words.

"Either way, since we've already decided, Fino-san becoming ours is a certainty. So please, drop your futile resistance, and quietly hand over Fino-san…"

"But I will keep my word!"

Cloud cut across Karen's lecturing tone with finality.

"If we lose, I'll give up on Miss Fino, and naturally we won't lay a finger on this shop. Dig in and lose Miss Fino for certain, or wager on a slim chance of victory and accept the maid café contest: the choice is yours."

He paused for a moment.

Sweeping his eyes around the interior of Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store, Cloud smirked.

"… Of course, there's no way my shop loses to a place like this!"

"Ngh…!"

Damn it, what do I do?! Cold sweat trickled down Raul's spine as he muttered inwardly. Honestly, these conditions are insane, but if we don't accept, Fino and the shop are both…!

And then,

"… Sure?"

Beside Raul, who was grinding his teeth, Fino stepped forward to face Cloud and spoke up casually. Wait…?!

"F-Fino-san!!?" "H-hey!!!!!"

Raul reflexively grabbed the girl's shoulders and raised his voice.

"Fino! How can you just so casually…!"

"If we don't accept the contest, the shop's in trouble, right? Then we have no choice but to accept."

She looked up at the flustered Raul, blinking with apparent innocence. Then, after a beat, Fino narrowed her blue eyes in a small smile.

"And besides, if we lose, all I have to do is this 'marriage' thing on my own… I don't really get what it is, but for this shop, I'd do anything, you know?"

"H-hey, when you say you'd do anything, you…!!?"

Faced with Fino's almost defenseless offer, Raul felt a helpless, frustrated knot in his chest. Damn it, she doesn't even know what marriage means, and yet…!

"All right, it's settled!"

Cloud nodded, satisfied with Fino's answer, and the new Manager of Amada's Royal Capital Store, Cloud Patrick, declared once more:

"We'll meet at the event two weeks from now! Fuhaha, do your best to entertain us!"

"Manager Cloud!"

Saying his piece with overflowing composure, Cloud strode out of the shop, his shoes clicking sharply. As Karen, Assistant Manager, watched her superior's retreating back, she muttered to herself with a bitter edge:

"Honestly. This is exactly why I can't stand spoiled rich-kid idiots. Anyway, I need to report this immediately…"

And then,

"My, my, do we have customers?"

A soft voice abruptly drifted through the shop.

At the same moment, the door of the back office behind the register opened, and emerging from it was the chestnut-haired beautiful girl who looked like she couldn't possibly be older than her teens, the supreme authority of this shop, Manager Seara…

"M-Manager!!!!!"

The moment he saw his unhurried supervisor coming over, Raul cried out in a panic:

"A-actually, something terrible…"

And then, cutting off Raul's voice, the sound of something hard suddenly hit the floor.

"S-Se-chan…!"

Karen, Amada's Assistant Manager, had dropped her binder, her face stiffening.

The moment Manager Seara, having just emerged from the back office, saw her, her amber eyes blinked.

"… Could it be… Ka-chan?"

In the next instant.

A radiant smile spread across Manager Seara's face as she dashed over, her chestnut hair bouncing softly.

"Wow, it's been so long! Ka-chan, what are you doing nowadays, and where!?"

"D-don't come near me!!!!!"

… Her chilly composure from earlier had vanished without a trace.

Sidestepping Seara's outstretched hand, the suddenly-flustered Karen shouted:

"And stop calling me 'Ka-chan'!"

"But we're best friends, aren't we?"

"WHO is your best friend!!!!?"

Her voice rising as she cut Seara off, Karen bit her lip.

"During higher-academy days, just how much hardship did you put me through…!"

"H-higher-academy days…?"

"Don't tell me… Assistant Manager Karen, you actually knew Manager Seara?"

Faced with this unexpected development, Raul and Karen's former subordinate Airi could only gape.

Thoroughly rattled, Karen's voice rose unsteadily.

"Anyway, Se-cha… ahem."

… She swallowed her almost-spoken nickname, gave a small cough.

With a poker face meant to cover up the unseemly display from a moment ago, Karen calmly opened her mouth.

"… W-why are you here, Seara-san? Could it be that you, too, work part-time here?"

"Hehe, see, I'm the Manager of this store now."

"Wha…!"

… Once again, Karen's expression shifted entirely.

"I-I graduated from higher academy with excellent grades, and even I'm still only Assistant Manager, and yet Seara-san, who dropped out after a year, is already a Manager…"

"… Ka-chan, what's wrong?"

"H-haha… haha…"

Seara blinked her wide eyes in puzzlement as Karen let out a self-mocking laugh.

After a beat.

Karen glared at Seara and slowly opened her pale-rouge-tinted lips.

"… I will destroy this shop."

"Hehe, Ka-chan, you really do love your jokes."

"It is not a joke. Whatever Manager Cloud may have said, I, Karen Directory, will, in Amada's name, destroy this shop."

"Eh, Ka-chan, are you saying you work for Amada?"

But the moment she heard those words, Seara's wide eyes went round and she exclaimed:

"Amazing! Getting into a huge company like Amada, that's so like Ka-chan!"

"Eh… t-thanks…"

… At Seara's words, delivered as if she were the one being praised, Karen wound up with all the venom knocked out of her, like a Demon-King Pufferfish liver pickled in magic salt.

After a beat, Karen pulled herself together with a sniff.

"W-well, in that case… certainly, being Amada's Assistant Manager is socially much higher level than being Leon's Manager…"

"Wow, you're an Assistant Manager!? Hey, let's go out to eat sometime! I want to hear all about how you've been…! Ah, let's exchange MagicPhone numbers? My number is…"

"W-well, in that case, if you insist, eating together with you wouldn't be the worst… wait!"

Karen, MagicPhone already in hand, recoiled with a start.

"D-dangerous… I was on the verge of getting pulled into this woman's pace…!"

Glaring at Seara warily, Karen spoke:

"Listen carefully, Seara-san. Now that you've shown yourself, I have no intention of losing. Please, do not forget that point."

Speaking the strong words like a final verdict, Amada's Assistant Manager Karen strode out of the shop.

"… My, my, you could have stayed a bit longer…" went the lighthearted-as-ever Manager Seara, to whom Raul hurried over and shouted:

"M-Manager, we have a problem!!!!!"

"Eh… 'getting married' means I have to leave the shop!!?"

"… Yeah. You'd have to go to Amada's Manager's place."

"…!"

At Raul's words, delivered with a hand pressed to his forehead, the silver-haired girl finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Drawing a sharp breath, a now pale-faced Fino clutched at Raul's clothes.

"W-what do we do, Raul! I've made an outrageous promise…!"

Looking up at Raul, Fino pressed on, her face on the verge of tears.

"I don't want to go anywhere like that… I want to stay at this shop forever…"

"Fino…"

"… It's all right, Fino-chan."

Manager Seara laid a hand on the girl's head and gently spoke up.

"All of us, together, will protect you, Fino-chan, okay?"

And then.

"Um, Manager…"

Beside the comforting Manager, Airi hesitantly spoke.

"Assistant Manager Karen said she'd destroy this shop. Is that going to be all right? Assistant Manager Karen used to be my superior, but she's the kind of person who holds herself and everyone else to high standards and absolutely follows through on whatever she says…"

"That's true…"

In response to the worried question from Airi, a former Amada employee, Manager Seara's expression clouded over slightly.

"Ka-chan… I mean, Karen-san is a really good girl, but ever since long ago, the moment I'm involved, she reflexively starts pulling all kinds of nasty tricks…"

"Damn it…!"

… Amada's idiot Manager Cloud proposing to Fino for some pointless reason, his Assistant Manager Karen burning with inexplicable hostility toward Manager Seara, and on top of that the maid café showdown Cloud had thrown at them two weeks from now. Faced with the mountain of problems, Raul couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Well, in any case…"

Manager Seara looked around at her subordinates, soothingly stroking Fino's head as she spoke up.

"For now, we need to work out a counter-strategy, don't we?"

 

*

 

"Well then, let us begin the meeting on operating a maid café in opposition to Amada, Royal Capital Store."

— Two days later, in the second-floor break room of Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store.

Sweeping her gaze across Assistant Manager Visor, Raul, Airi, and Fino, the Leon staff seated around the long table, Manager Seara opened a notebook to serve as minutes and got things started.

"First of all, the most important thing: in this contest at the charity event two weeks from now, Fino-chan is the wager."

"…!"

The moment she heard, Fino tightened her fists under the table.

"I think Fino-chan is much too young for marriage. And Fino-chan herself has told us she wants to stay here. So we absolutely cannot lose."

Fino…

In front of a Raul who narrowed his eyes despite himself, Assistant Manager Visor muttered to himself:

"Still, proposing to Fino-kun, that Manager really is quite the lolicon… actually, no, maybe not, hmm…"

… Comparing Fino's mature-for-her-age chest with Airi's perfectly flat chest, which didn't match her grown-up face at all, the Assistant Manager murmured thoughtfully.

In that instant, a blushing Airi who'd just covered her chest, and Raul, both raised their voices:

"H-hey, what's that supposed to mean!?"

"Visor-san! This is Fino's emergency, take this seriously!"

"Yeah, sorry… I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit…"

"Anyway, getting back on topic, all right?"

In front of the now-sheepish Assistant Manager, Manager Seara resumed with a sigh.

"Our opponent is industry-leader Amada, and Ka-chan, I mean, Assistant Manager Karen, being the way she is, will certainly spare no expense to win."

The Manager glanced at Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store's faded wallpaper (the shop was now over a decade old) and went on:

"Naturally, our shop can't compete on money. And on top of that, our manpower is just the five of us here. We have to cover the gap with our ideas and creativity."

"… Yes!"

At the Manager's words, Raul tightened his resolve once more. As the Manager had said, going head-to-head, they had no chance. To make up the gap, they had to put their heads together…!

"Also, in this contest, the omelette rice will be just as important a deciding factor as the maid café itself. So I'd like for each of us to bring an omelette rice we like, then taste each other's together and decide on an omelette-rice recipe to beat Amada with."

So saying, Manager Seara looked around at her staff.

"… So, on short notice, I'm sorry, but the night after tomorrow, Fire-Day evening, I'd like to hold a tasting meeting. Could everyone make the omelette rice they think is best and bring it in?"

"Yes." "Got it, Manager." "Ah, sure…" "Fuhahaha, leave it to me!"

"Wait…"

Raul couldn't help the look of surprise he shot Fino at her rather enthusiastic reply.

"Fino, can you actually make omelette rice?"

"Fuhahaha, I'm a cooking master, you know!?"

Claiming what sounded like a rather impressive title, Fino puffed out her chest with overflowing confidence.

"The night after tomorrow, in this break room, I'll show you all the ultimate omelette rice!"

"R-right…"

Fino sounded like a line out of a popular cooking manga in the royal capital. Raul couldn't help giving her a warm, indulgent look. … She's probably copying that drama that was on the shop's MagiVi the other day.

"Thank you, everyone."

The Manager smiled and clicked her MagicBallpoint pen.

"Well then, on to the main agenda. We'll decide the omelette rice the day after tomorrow, so today, the main topic is the maid café portion… Truthfully, I don't know that much about maid cafés myself, so I did some research, and the most important elements really come down to these three."

'Maid Outfits,' 'Service,' 'Reception.' Smoothly writing the three words out, Manager Seara pointed to the first.

"First, the design of the 'Maid Outfits' that Fino-chan, Airi-san, and I will wear. When it comes to maid cafés, the star is always the maid uniform, isn't it? Show me the designs everyone has come up with."

"Ah, then, I'll go first…!"

Raul promptly raised his hand and pulled a notebook out of his bag.

"To be honest, I'm not really confident…"

… Kuku, the time has come at last!

In humble words that belied the confidence (no, the certainty) with which he flipped open the notebook, Raul pressed on.

The assignment Manager Seara had handed out: "The Strongest Maid Uniform I/Boku/Watashi Have Designed."

For the soft-spoken Manager Seara, the innocent Fino, the dignified Airi, girls who differed in features, build, and bust size alike, it had been hard work to come up with a design that would suit them all. But thanks to thorough research using MITNet image searches and pulling all-nighters, the design that emerged after over a hundred rejected drafts was truly a one-in-a-kind miracle. Classic yet fresh, blending purity with sex appeal… honestly, when he'd finished, he'd been terrified by his own hidden talent.

Hehe, prepare to be amazed…!? Stifling the grin that threatened to spread across his cheeks, Raul held out the notebook. Once we get Fino into this maid uniform I designed, we'll protect her from Amada!

"T-this is…!"

The staff gasped at the sight of Raul's notebook.

… After a moment, Assistant Manager Visor hesitantly murmured:

"… It's plain."

"… Plain."

"… Somehow, not very cool…"

"Eh? Eh!?"

… Faced with this underwhelming response to his all-in masterpiece, Raul froze on the spot.

Then, the Manager, who had been studying the notebook, suddenly looked up and smiled at Raul.

"This is a really nice notebook. Where did you buy it?"

"That's the only part you're praising!!!!?"

"Now then, who's next?"

"AND NO FOLLOW-UP AT ALL!!!!?"

… Reeling from a shock on par with the abolition of the [Hero Exam] itself, Raul curled up with his knees clutched to his chest. In front of him, Assistant Manager Visor casually raised a hand.

"Welp, guess I'll go too…"

"—?!!!!"

The moment they saw the Assistant Manager's design, Airi went bright red and looked away; Fino, cheeks also flushed, stared intently at it. Raul shot a sidelong glance over, then was struck speechless.

"H-hey, this is…"

… The design the Assistant Manager had set down on the table had an exposed-skin ratio that could honestly qualify it for an age-restriction label.

With a surprisingly serious face, the Assistant Manager held up a finger.

"If we're going all in, we need at least this much. Put yourself in the customer's shoes…"

"There's no way this is in the realm of a maid café, no matter how you slice it!!!!!"

"H-hey…"

Beside Raul, Fino, cheeks flushed, raised a small voice.

"Visor-san, this… around the chest, and under the skirt, what's actually going on?"

"Oh, Fino-kun, that's a great question. Well, you see…"

"VISOR-SAN! Don't go filling Fino's head with nonsense!!!!!"

And then,

"Hehe, this is actually rather good."

"WHAT!!?"

At Manager Seara's smiling appraisal, Assistant Manager Visor leaned forward with all his might.

"S-seriously, this is actually getting adopted!? T-they're really going to wait on customers in this thing…?"

"Yes."

To the Assistant Manager, whose voice rose in anticipation, the Manager nodded, still smiling.

"You, Visor-kun, will wear this."

"Eh."

"Actually, why don't we make this Visor-kun's permanent uniform from now on?"

In an instant the Assistant Manager froze, while the Manager continued, all smiles:

"There's no way we could put something like this on Fino-chan or Airi-san, now, could we?"

"… My apologies."

Bowled over by the smiling Manager Seara's iron will, the Assistant Manager apologized profusely. And then.

"Hey, it's my turn!!!"

Fino raised her hand high and pulled a folded flyer out of her apron pocket.

"… Wait, Fino, what's that flyer…"

"Hehe, did you know, Raul!? Flyers with blank backs are perfect for drawing!"

Saying so proudly, Fino unfolded the back of a real-estate flyer titled 'Recommended! All-Magical Property Special.' On it was a maid uniform design colored in with colored pencils, wait!

"Oh, this is pretty cool…"

"What battle-tribe outfit even is this!!!!?"

The Assistant Manager murmured admiringly, while Raul shouted despite himself. In front of him, Manager Seara murmured, "My, my."

"Fino-chan, you see, maid uniforms don't really come with spikes, you know?"

"Eh!?"

Fino blinked in surprise. Airi, looking at her, let out a great sigh.

"… Also, maids don't have fangs, of course, and they don't have horns either, they don't have three eyes, they don't wear cursed helmets, and they don't carry blood-soaked swords either, you know?"

"B-but, this sword is a magic sword called 'Deathgod-of-Death's Death Destroyer Grim' that's said to have drunk the blood of a hundred [Heroes]…"

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MAID UNIFORM!!!!!"

Raul couldn't help shouting at full volume.

"But, the way you let yourself express yourself in it is really nice, you know?"

The Manager wore a doting smile and offered a comment that sounded like a kindergarten teacher's. Then she turned to look at Airi.

"All right, last is Airi-san?"

"Y-yes!"

Urged on by the Manager, Airi a little bashfully held out a sheet of copy paper.

"U-um, I thought something like this would be good…"

"Oh my."

The moment she laid eyes on the girl's design, the Manager's expression softened.

"This is so cute."

"Wow, I'd love to wear this!"

"Hmm… if you go this thoroughly classical, you actually loop right back around to maniacally good…"

A neat black one-piece dress, with lace and frills arranged here and there, and ribbons for accent. Nothing flashy, but simple, calm, and adorably designed.

"I like this one too…"

The moment Raul casually murmured the words, Airi (for some reason flushing) looked away in a huff.

"I-it's not like… I just drew it the way the assignment said, it's not like I'd been wanting to wear something like this for a while or anything…"

"Hehe, looks like we don't even need to put it to a vote, do we?"

Manager Seara, smiling all the while, looked around at her staff, then wrote 'Airi-san's design' under the 'Maid Outfits' note in her notebook.

"All right, next is 'Service.'"

Manager Seara once again surveyed her staff and spoke up.

"For today's meeting, I asked everyone to do some research on maid cafés… could each of you present what you found?"

"Yes!"

Fino was quick to raise her hand and declare with confidence:

"When they said 'Maid Café,' I thought some incredible monsters were going to show up, but a whole lot of pretty older sisters showed up instead, and I was so surprised!"

"Oh, Fino-chan, you went to a maid café too?"

"… Yeah. I happened to have the same day off as her yesterday, so I took her along for reference."

In front of the wide-eyed Manager, Raul pressed his hand to his forehead and added context.

"This girl was so fidgety the whole time. Even after we went in she kept glancing around, and just when I was thinking how weird she was being, she tugged on my shirt and whispered, 'Raul, isn't this the wrong shop?'"

"B-but, I'd been suspicious! When Amada's new Manager said 'I love Maids!' I thought he was a suicide-seeker, but it's fortunate I didn't accidentally help him out!"

"DON'T ACCIDENTALLY AID AND ABET SUICIDE!!!!!"

"And then, there were all sorts of services!"

Eyes shining, Fino opened the notebook she'd pulled from her apron to use as a memo book.

"They had things like: if you won at rock-paper-scissors with the maid you got another glass of juice, or they'd draw pictures on your hotcakes in syrup, or if you looked like the light was bothering you they'd close the curtains, or they'd read books with you… so, I thought, our shop should do things like that too, and I came up with…"

So saying, the silver-haired girl looked up with overflowing confidence.

"If you win at rock-paper-scissors, we present you with an extra receipt! How about that!"

"OBVIOUSLY NOT!!!!!"

The moment Raul shot her down, Fino blinked at him with wide, puzzled eyes.

"But, in front of the customer, we already put in any words they want…"

"WE DO THAT NORMALLY ANYWAY!!!"

"As a special bonus, we'll even add a heart after the description!"

"WE CAN'T SUBMIT SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ACCOUNTING!!!"

"Then, if you win at rock-paper-scissors, the maid will switch on the display unit for you…"

"YOU CAN DO THAT FOR THEM WITHOUT RPS!!!"

"If you win at rock-paper-scissors, the maid will read the catalog with you…"

"NOBODY'S THRILLED TO BE READ ITEM SPECS!!!"

"Um, Manager."

Then, changing the subject, Airi raised her hand with a serious look.

"The other day on the MagiVi I saw something. Supposedly, recent maid cafés have services where the maid slaps the customer's cheek, or hurls the change at his face, that have become really popular…"

"That's a different genre of shop, 'All-A'!!!"

"Raul, Raul! If you win at rock-paper-scissors, you get another round of rock-paper-scissors with the maid…"

"THAT'S AN INFINITE LOOP! And get off the rock-paper-scissors thing already, Fino!!!"

"For the record, rock-paper-scissors in the Demon Realm has three options: monsters, splattered blood, and entrails! Monsters eat entrails, entrails drink up splattered blood, and splattered blood blinds the monsters in a three-way standoff…"

"LA LA LA, CAN'T HEAR YOU, CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

… Raul desperately tried to tune out Fino's pridefully explained slasher-flick variant of rock-paper-scissors. Meanwhile, jotting the staff's ideas down in the notebook, the Manager spoke up with a smile:

"I've heard maids have services where they blow on hot food and feed it to the customer. How about a service where the maid blows on the contacts of a MagicalFamicom cartridge for the customer?"

"THERE'S NO DEMAND FOR THAT!!!"

"Ah, Manager. I'd be really happy with sexy photo shoots of the maids, or hardcore wrestling-style catfights. Oh, also, a service where the maid gives you ear-cleaning on her lap…"

"… Visor-san. Just to be clear, that's not you getting that service. It's the Manager doing it for customers, you know?"

"Manager, I don't think honey-trapping customers is a good idea. Above all, it'd be a terrible influence on Fino-kun and Airi-kun's upbringing."

"… …"

Raul shot Visor a tepid look at the Assistant Manager's sudden 180-degree pivot.

"Well, for the time being, this is probably as far as we'll get…"

… Then, Manager Seara, who'd been studying the notebook thoughtfully, gently raised her head.

"In reality, there are only three of us who can act as maids, and there's only so much we can do, but with what's possible for us, let's keep looking into the services we can offer."

"Yes!"

Staff nodded at the Manager's words.

The chestnut-haired Manager Seara softly tossed her hair, looked over them, and continued.

"Now, last, 'Reception.' We need to get used as soon as possible to the unique service style of calling our customers 'Goshujin-sama'…"

… A mischievous smile danced on Manager Seara's lips.

"Actually, on that score, I have a little idea."

 

*

 

And so, after all that,

'We've been awaiting your return, Goshujin-sama.'

'You must be tired, mine Goshujin-sama! Take this seat and recline here helplessly at your leisure!!!'

'U-um…'

… Carried out per the Manager's "little idea," and ending in helpless failure: the industry-first maid-café-and-magic-shop collaboration shop, 'Maid Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store.'

Looking around the now-restored sales floor, the café-style tables cleared away, Raul let out a relieved breath. Still,

"… I mean, can't you guys do something about that customer service?"

In stark contrast to Manager Seara, who acted like a maid born to the role, Airi and Fino had each given catastrophic performances. Especially Fino. She'd been such an outlier it would have been more accurate to call it a Demon-King café than a maid café. What kind of niche genre is that even!? Does this girl really get the situation she's in?

"My, my."

In front of the unable-to-help-but-sigh Raul, Manager Seara smiled brightly.

"I thought Fino-chan's customer service was quite good, you know?"

"Eh?"

"After all, you could really feel how much she wanted to do something for the customer."

"Wow!!!"

… Raul's eyes went wide at the Manager's unexpected pronouncement, while Fino let out a happy cry.

Looking down at the girl with a gentle gaze, the Manager continued:

"So, Fino-chan, if you just practice your speech style a little more, and then calm down just a touch, you'll be just fine."

"Yeah, I'll do that…! I'll practice my speech and calm down just a touch!"

Fino nodded with a serious face at the Manager's advice.

Nodding back, Manager Seara turned to Airi this time, then suddenly spoke up.

"As for you, Airi-san… do you have someone important to you?"

"Eh."

Manager Seara narrowed her amber eyes and asked in a kind voice.

In that instant, Airi, cheeks flushing for some reason, raised her voice unsteadily.

"T-that, well, I… it's not as if there's nobody…"

Lowering her indigo eyes and trailing off shyly, Airi let her words die away.

Looking down at the girl, Manager Seara smiled softly.

"Then, you'll be fine. Think of the customer as that important person. To put it another way, it's all an act, isn't it? Think of how a maid would behave for someone she's devoted to, and act that part out, all right? It's all right, Airi-san. I know you can do it."

"An act… is it?"

"Yes… So, you see, there's no need to feel embarrassed about it?"

To the hesitantly-questioning Airi, Manager Seara gave a mischievous wink.

"Really, you know, I think regular customer service can all be an act. You don't need to show your true self in front of the customer. If you see lovely staff at other shops you've visited, with deportment or considerations you admire, copy them eagerly and play the part of your ideal staff… Of course, there'll be days when you can't pull it off, but when you've spent a whole day as your ideal staff, it's such a happy feeling, you know?"

So saying, Manager Seara turned her gentle eyes to the Fino at her side.

"… Of course, there are people like Fino-chan, who can move for the customer without even consciously thinking about it, but those people are truly the exception. They're special. So for ordinary people like us, the act is fine… And there's nothing to feel hesitant about just because it's an act, all right? If you play your ideal self, before you know it, your true self approaches the ideal too. I believe that."

"Playing the ideal…"

Airi parroted the phrase as if the scales had fallen from her eyes.

Listening to Manager Seara's words, Raul too couldn't help inwardly murmuring.

Even someone like me, if I learned to play my ideal self, then maybe someday, just like the Manager…

"So, Raul-kun and Visor-kun, please put on a big show too, all right?"

"E-eh, ah, y-yes!?"

Caught off guard by the sudden mention, Raul jolted.

"… Geez. Manager, you say it so easily…"

Beside him, Assistant Manager Visor, similarly singled out, scratched his head. And then,

"Ah!"

Reacting to the shop's front door suddenly opening, Fino looked up with a bright voice and greeted in lively tones:

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama!"

"W-welcome home, G-Goshujin-sama…!"

Still unable to fully apply the Manager's teaching, Airi stuttered through it in embarrassment.

Last of all, Manager Seara, wearing a particularly luminous smile, bowed toward the customer.

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama."

"Eh…"

… Thick-looking glasses, a heavy leather jacket, black fingerless gloves. Hanging over the chest of a simple T-shirt, a Black Dragon pendant radiating bizarre presence.

The somehow-familiar-looking boy stared wide-eyed at the maid-attired Manager…

"—!!!!!"

In the next instant. Letting out a strangled, voiceless scream, the boy bolted off into the sales floor with terrifying speed, and presently came running back hauling a gardening magical concrete block, demanding of Raul:

"U-um, excuse me! Could you please clobber me on the head with this block!? As, as hard as you can!"

"E-er, um…"

"… Ah, you need the payment first, right! Here, no change necessary, please, hurry! S-Seara-san in a maid uniform welcoming me home as her Goshujin-sama, I have to confirm whether this is a dream or reality this very instant!!!!!"

"S-sir, I'm very sorry, but this shop doesn't provide that kind of service…"

The boy with the dragon pendant pressed a 1,000-gold bill and the block into the flustered Raul's hands and pressed his case with a deadly serious tone.

Airi, who'd been watching dumbly, suddenly noticed something and opened her eyes wide.

"Wait, you're…!"

"Hm?"

It was the moment Airi's voice rang out that the boy finally seemed to notice her. He flashed an easy, friendly smile and bowed his head in greeting.

"Wow, if it isn't Airi-san! It's been a while!"

"What are you doing here, Ciel-san!!?"

A devoted fan of Manager Seara, a regular at Leon, and (actually) the top young employee of Amada Magic, Royal Capital Store. The boy with the dragon pendant, Ciel Script.

To the question from Airi, his former Amada colleague, the boy answered with a smile:

"Ah, after that demonkin uproar a while back, I was transferred to the shop in Dyna City. But the Royal Capital Store is reopening now, so I'm back in the capital…"

"That's not what I'm asking!!! Why are you just casually showing up at our rival shop!? … You're not here to harass us, are you!?"

"Eh…"

Airi's question made Ciel blink, and then he laughed with apparent amusement.

"Wait, come on. I've been a Leon fan since way back. Of course, the Manager Seara who's as beautiful as a goddess is a big draw, but I love the maniac lineup of items centered on these obscure manufacturers I've never even heard of. Amada only carries items from reliable big-name makers, so it's kind of, you know, not all that fun."

"… I feel like we're being thoroughly insulted here…"

At Ciel's words, which probably weren't meant maliciously, Raul couldn't help giving him a half-lidded look.

Turning to face Raul, Ciel bowed with an affable smile.

"Ah, formally, nice to meet you. I'm Airi-san's former colleague, Ciel Script. I don't have a business card on me today, but I work as a sales clerk at Amada…"

"Ah, are you the magicamera onii-sa— mmph!"

"? … Have we met before somewhere?"

"N-no! T-thank you so much for being a regular at our shop!"

Raul covered Fino's mouth before she could blurt out anything else and laughed to cover it up.

And then.

Suddenly remembering something, Airi turned to address Ciel.

"Hey, Ciel-san. Recently, the new Manager of the Royal Capital Store came to introduce himself…"

"…!"

Raul drew a sharp breath, recognizing Airi's small-talk-disguised probe. Right. Her former superior Assistant Manager Karen seems to know Manager Seara, but we have almost no information about the freshly-appointed Manager Cloud. Is he the idiot he looks like, or is he secretly competent? … As expected of 'All-A.'

"Ah, the spoiled-idiot Manager."

Just as the girl had hoped, Ciel answered with hardly any guard. Wait, what!?

"S-spoiled-idiot…?"

"Yes, that's Manager Cloud's nickname."

Casually declaring it in front of Airi, who couldn't help muttering it back, Ciel added with a smile:

"It seems Assistant Manager Karen was the one who coined it. He hated it at first, but apparently after the Assistant Manager told him, 'It may at first look like an abbreviation of "spoiled rich-kid idiot," but in fact it's a noble two-character title denoting the name of a renowned philosopher revered in another world,' he started to enjoy being called that."

"… Wasn't that just her feeding him a lie…?"

"Apparently he was put in charge of the Royal Capital Store solely as the executive's son: a nepotism placement. He always seems to have time on his hands, and constantly badgers Assistant Manager Karen with things like, 'I don't know what to do, give me instructions!' to which she replies, 'In that case, please stop breathing.'"

"… …"

Airi was struck speechless by Ciel's intel. Beside her, Raul couldn't help wearing the same expression.

Wait, we got dragged into this for the sake of an idiot Manager like that!?

"Well, his reputation in the company isn't great because of all that, and his personality doesn't seem to mesh with Assistant Manager Karen's either, but I actually kind of like him? He's easygoing, friendly, you can't bring yourself to hate him… The previous Manager Quan, he had a bit of a scary side to him, you know."

"Manager Quan…"

The moment he heard the name Airi echoed back, Raul felt his heart skip.

The tall, raven-haired, raven-eyed man who'd tried to drain Fino's mana at Amada's "Magic Orb" factory… I'll never forget the face of the guy we let escape that time.

And then,

"B-by the way…"

Ciel, suddenly fidgety, dropped his voice and glanced over at Manager Seara as he spoke.

"Um… why are you all in maid uniforms?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? At the charity event two weeks from now, our shop is going to run a maid café as our pop-up. So we're practicing the service from now…"

"A m-maid café!!!!?"

In that instant, Ciel's voice flipped into a falsetto and he leaned forward in excitement.

"D-d-d-do you have advance tickets!? Numbered tickets, entry tickets, reservation slips, anything like that…?"

"No, nothing that elaborate…"

"I'll definitely come! Even if the final war broke out, I'd come no matter what!!!!!"

"Well, if the final war broke out, the event would have to be cancelled…"

"In that case, I'll prevent the final war at the cost of my life."

"… R-right. I'm rooting for you."

Faced with Ciel's iron-clad resolve, Raul couldn't help giving a half-hearted reply.

And then.

Manager Seara, who'd been listening in, gracefully walked over and smiled at Ciel.

"Thank you, Goshujin-sama… I'll be awaiting your return, all right?"

"—!!!!!!!!"

In that instant.

Manager Seara looked down at Ciel, who had collapsed to the floor at the peak of emotion, and murmured, "My, my."

 

*

 

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama."

The sun had thoroughly set, and just as the evening rush of customers heading home from work hit its peak.

'Play the ideal.' Thanks to the Manager's advice, Airi, who'd been so embarrassed before, had largely gotten used to the maid-café-style service. There was even a hint of composure in her voice as she greeted the customers streaming in.

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama."

The frill-laden apron dress wasn't what Airi (normally given to simple outfits) would have picked, but the honey-haired girl smiling softly amid the swaying ruffles looked like a real maid in some grand mansion, refined and so pretty it made his heart skip a beat…

"…!"

Raul, who'd been staring for an instant, hurriedly tore his eyes away. … If she catches me sneaking glances, who knows what kind of sarcasm I'd be in for later.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice his gaze.

With the sound of the door opening, Airi raised her voice again.

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sa…"

But there was a sudden break in Airi's tone, something subtly off about it. Sensing it, Raul shot his eyes toward the front door, and his heart shrank.

Close-cropped hair, dark sunglasses. The atmosphere of the man who entered with squared shoulders, wrapped in an expensive-looking suit, set off every alarm of Raul's clerk-honed sixth sense.

… The distinctive whiff of a vicious customer-complainer, or someone of that ilk. This guy is trouble!

Apparently picking up the same thing as Raul, Airi shot him an eye-contact signal from the entrance. Raul nodded back and reached for the intercom switch on his collar.

In that instant, a grating, crashing noise resounded through the shop.

"… Oopsy."

The sunglasses-man, who had knocked an item off the shelf onto the floor with all-too-deliberate posturing, smirked and muttered:

"Wow, what a problem. My shoulder bumped it, and I dropped the merchandise by accident."

"…!"

The shop went dead silent at the man's loud voice.

Unrelated customers averted their gazes in fear, and some discreetly headed for the exit to avoid getting caught up in it.

… Damn it, what's he playing at? Should I call the Manager, or call the police first…?

Hand still on the intercom switch, Raul hesitated for just a moment.

And into the boy's ear, a clear, ringing voice suddenly flew:

"Don't you dare!"

The valiantly-swaying hem of an apron dress, an elegant lace headband.

The maid-clad girl who strode briskly up to the sunglasses-man was, 'All-A'?!

"Anyone could see that was on purpose!"

Glaring at the man, Airi raised her voice in protest without hesitation.

But the sunglasses-man simpered and made an exaggerated shrug.

"Naw, no way, it was an accident, an accident… or do you charge for damages every time some little kid runs around your shop knocking stuff over?"

"…!"

The atmosphere between Airi and the sunglasses-man hung on a hair-trigger.

In the middle of it, a thought suddenly flashed through Raul's mind: Manager Seara's words.

Play your ideal self… At a time like this, what would Manager Seara do?

Clicking his tongue, Raul leapt out from behind the counter. This sort of person likely won't hesitate to use force. First, get Airi back, then probe for the guy's true intentions…!

And just then,

"Ah, welcome home, Goshujin-sama!"

In that very instant.

Fino, who had popped out of the back, bounded over to the sunglasses-man with a giddy cry.

"F-Fino-san!!?"

"H-hey, Fino!!!!!"

"W-what the hell, you brat…"

"Hm, Goshujin-sama, are you interested in this Magic Washing Machine?"

The silver-haired girl stepped right up to the sunglasses-man and peered intently at the large bucket-shaped item displayed beside him.

In front of the sunglasses-man, who was thrown off by this sudden interloper, Fino nodded as if satisfied, then lifted the corners of her lips.

"Then, let me do the laundry on your behalf, Goshujin-sama!"

"—?!!!!"

The moment she declared it, Fino tore the sunglasses-man's expensive-looking suit coat right off in one motion. As the man stood gaping at the unexpected development, Fino bunched the coat up roughly, threw it into the bucket, and slammed the lid shut with a bang.

And then,

"H-hey, Fino-san! That's not a washing machine, that's a magical food-waste processor (MagicComposter)…!"

"Eh?"

Just as Airi's voice rang out, Fino's finger touched the switch.

In that instant.

An unmistakable abnormal sound spread through the area.

"… …"

The sound, if you had to describe it, was like fabric being shredded and forcibly tangled around a motor.

… Fino timidly let go of the switch, opened the lid of the bucket.

Turning to face the open-mouthed sunglasses-man, Fino bowed her head awkwardly.

"I-I'm, sorry… i-it looked exactly… like a washing machine… so…"

"… …"

The man looked down at the coat that was now in a state worse than a rag, his shirt-clad shoulders trembling.

After a moment.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT, ARE YOU SCREWING WITH ME!!!!"

Enraged, the man seized the support post of the shelf in front of him and, with full force, toppled the shelf (which had to weigh tens of kilos) straight down over Fino's head.

"—?!!!!"

"Fino!!!!!"

In the nick of time, Raul threw himself protectively over Fino, embraced her, and rolled across the floor, mixed in among the various items spilling from the shelf.

A creaking back. The soft warmth of the body in his arms, and hot breath on his bared neck. The shelving board crashed to the floor right beside his head with a heavy sound. And then.

A shadow suddenly fell across Raul's vision.

Hurrying to look up, he saw the sunglasses-man, who'd toppled the shelf, sneering down at him.

"Kuku, I'll smash your damn nose…!"

With a vulgar grin, the man lifted one foot.

The thick-iron-plated sole of his shoe came crashing down with full force toward Raul's face.

"—!"

Raul, still holding Fino, squeezed his eyes shut tight.

In that instant, behind his tightly-shut eyelids, the world suddenly turned bright.

After a beat.

As Raul timidly opened his eyes, the hem of a refined apron dress fluttered into his field of view.

"Cautioning a bad Goshujin-sama is also a maid's role, wouldn't you say?"

Looking down at the sunglasses-man, now barefoot and on his rear with his shoes blown clean off, Manager Seara, gripping her orange MagiCalc, smiled brightly.

 

*

 

"I… am… sorry…"

A flat, detached female voice rang through a late-night office.

"I personally posed as a passing fortune-teller to set him up and send him into Leon, but… I hadn't anticipated he would be quite that much of an idiot…"

… A pause of silence.

The woman, who had been making small noises of acknowledgement, eventually nodded quietly.

"Understood. We'll do as you say."

Lustrous short-cut black hair, thin, pale-rouge-tinted lips.

The dark-haired woman hung up the MagicPhone, looked up, and spoke up as if remembering something.

"Well, thank you for your work."

… Burned, frizzled hair, dark sunglasses now cracked. Despite the season already being well into cool weather, the man, in nothing but his now-pathetic-looking dress shirt, muttered sourly:

"… Yeah. Per your request, I went and raised hell."

"Eh."

The moment she heard those words, the woman narrowed her almond-shaped eyes slightly and asked back:

"Just a moment. What do you mean by that?"

"What… you said to go harass that store…"

"What are you talking about?"

The woman, sounding as if this were utterly outrageous, shook her head firmly.

"When I said harassment, I meant things like turning over all the packaging of the front-row items on the shelves, swapping the price tags between similar-looking products on the sly, leaving lewd graffiti on the MagicalPenTablet display unit. Obviously."

"H-haha…?!"

"… It seems there's been a misunderstanding."

In front of the gaping sunglasses-man, the woman sighed in apparent annoyance.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to consider today's contract void."

"You bitch!"

The sunglasses-man raised his voice in fury at her one-sided declaration.

"Hey! As if I'm going to let bullshit like that fly…!"

… Cutting across the man's voice, the sound of air being forcefully ejected from a small hole.

"… My my, I thought it was a joke product, but it's not bad."

Slender fingers gripping a 'Magical Anti-Pervert Spray'.

The dark-haired woman murmured to herself as she looked down at the man now collapsed easily on the floor:

"Now then, harassing Seara-san is important, but first, as instructed, I need to arrange with the commercial-kitchen item supplier…"