Chapter 14 - It's Probably the Maid

A maid appeared, a knight in armor carrying a dragon appeared, a fairy appeared, a giant appeared, and a skeleton appeared. This barbecue had turned into an assortment of various races.

[Ein~ I’m sure that this is all the participants today, right?]

[Yes. Kuromu-sama said that Miyama-sama shouldn’t be dwarfed by the presence of the other participants, so I’ve limited the participants to 5 people.]

[Ummm, I’ll leave the cooking to Ein then~]

[I respectfully obey.]

[Errr, then what we need is……]

A conversation between Kuro and the maid—- Ein-san. If you were to just look at the two of them, they would only be the normal ones in this place. Or rather, the other members are just too scary! Especially the giants!

[By the way, Acht-kun, please change into your human form~. You’re scaring Kaitokun-san, you know~?]

[Eh? Me? I think Lord Sechs is scarier to look at than me though……]

[It’s because Acht-kun is too big~]

[No, but I’m like a child compared to “Magnawell”-sama, you know? Or rather, rather than me being too big, I have a feeling that Sister Raz is just too tiny……]

[……Are you trying to say something about me?]

[I- I’m sorry.]

Dressed in green clothing and flying on the small wings on her back, the fairy with long pink blonde hair called out to the blue giant. The conversation between the fairy, who’s probably less than 50 cm tall and the blue giant, who’s probably 5 meters tall, makes me lose my sense of perspective just by watching them.

I have lots of stuff to tsukkomi at, but fairy-san…… My name isn’t “Kaitokun”, it’s Kaito. And also, to think that there are also giants that are much bigger than him…… That this giant would look like a child compared to them……

While I’m thinking about that, the blue giant’s body glowed and turned into a muscular man with two horns and blue skin that stands out. He still looks big though, being at least two meters tall……

[However, it’s such a shame for those people who couldn’t attend.]

[It can’t be helped. It would be a tremendous number of people if we had everyone who wanted to participate in here……]

And just as the armored knight and the skeleton walked over while talking, Kuro finished his conversation with Ein-san and came over here.

[Sorry to keep you waiting, Kaito-kun. Well then, let’s leave the preparations to Ein. Once again, this child is Miyama Kaito-kun. He’s a friend of mine that I recently found, and this child’s from another world, so don’t scare him too much~]

[Alrighty~!]

[Well then, let’s start introducing ourselves one after another!]

At Kuro’s words, the fairy cheerfully raised her hand and decided to introduce herself to everyone.

[Then, if you have already introduced Ein-dono, I guess I’ll go next? Nice to meet you, Miyama-dono, my name is Sechs. Well, you could just think of me as one of the Liches you can find anywhere.]

(T/N: ゼクス / Zekusu… I won’t name him what you may be thinking about.)

[N- Nice to meet you.]

The gorgeously dressed skeleton introduced himself with a graceful bow. Liches you can find anywhere? He kind of looks like a certain undead last boss from somewhere though……

[By the way, the person who sent the invitation to Miyama-dono is my subordinate, Sei Riverstar. I’m sorry to surprise you with the unexpected invitation.

Apparently, this skeleton—– Sechs-san is the boss of the Chairman of the largest trading company who arranged my invitation this time. I could certainly feel the presence of someone who has accumulated a lot of experience, but just being Kuro’s close friend makes him not ordinary at all.

[Then, Raz is going to introduce herself next! My name is Razelia, please call me Raz. Nice to meet you, Kaitokun-san!]

(T/N: ラズリア / Razuria)

[E- Err, nice to meet you.]

The pink blonde fairy—– Raz-san cheerfully introduced herself. Probably because of her tiny appearance, she’s the soothing figure among this strong group of members.

[Hmm, then, I’m next huh…… I’m Acht, an Ogre. Well, I don’t like being stiff with people, so I’ll call you Kaito, alright?]

(T/N: アハト / Ahato)

[Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.]

[Yeah, well met.]

Even though he’s in human form, he still looks like a giant—- Acht-san has a lively personality. He held out his hand to me with a fierce smile on his face, in which I responded by shaking his hand. The heck, his hand is so hard!?

[Then, I guess I would be the last one…… My name is Neun. I’m the youngest among the people who gathered today. I’ll be in your care from now on, “Miyama-san”.]

[Same here.]

Dressed in a black knight armor all over his body—- Neun-san’s voice sounds a bit strange. It’s kind of weirdly high-pitched like his voice is altered by a voice changer, but it’s very easy to listen to. It’s hard to tell if he’s a man or a woman, partly because of his armor, but probably because he’s about 160cm tall that I could see him as a knight of the human race.

Anyway, with the self-introduction over, Kuro urged us to move to a table prepared in the vicinity. Then, at the same time, I could smell a fragment aroma and the sound of grilling meat, and when I moved my gaze to the table—–

[Eh? How fast!? You’ve already started grilling!?]

Our introductions should have only passed for a few minutes, but before I knew it, there were the three dragons, a large number of vegetables, and even the fishes, all skewered on a variety of large and small skewers and grilling them in the wire mesh.

No no, no matter how I look at it, isn’t she too fast!? Are you some kind of super being who has super acceleration!?

The number of barbecue skewers on the wire mesh is also outrageous. There were dozens of skewers neatly lined up and the aroma wafting in the air is nothing short of amazing.

[As expected of Elder Sister, you do one hell of a job~]

[That’s right. If Ein-san is here, there’s nothing we can do to help with the preparation of food.]

Acht-san and Neun-san spoke as if it’s a matter of course. Apparently, Ein-san’s extraordinary work speed seems to be a daily occurrence for them.

I mean, looking closely, there’s also something that looks like alcohol and juice on the table before I knew it. There were also some small dishes for people to share and eat. Maid-san is so amazing……]

[Ah, come to think of it, can you drink alcohol, Kaito?]

[Ah, yes. I can’t drink that much but……]

[Good. That’s good. Then, let’s go exchange drinks already!]

[Ah, that won’t do, Acht-kun. We still haven’t made a toast yet~]

[Don’t be so stiff, Sister Raz. Men should always to talk to each other first after they’ve had a drink.]

[Ein-san will scold you if you sip your drink before Kuromu-sama.]

[…………….]

Raz-san tried to stop Acht-san who was vigorously laughing, but Acht-san didn’t seem to be bothered by her words and tried to reach out for the alcohol on the table—– but he stiffened when he heard what she said. His face that was seemingly blue from the start, turned even bluer.

From the look of it, I can somehow see the power relationship between them, or at least, it seems that Acht-san is afraid of Ein-san.

[……Umm, could it be that Ein-san is actually an earth-shattering person?]

[Y- Yeah…… Or rather, you could even say that she’s almost a mons—–!?]

Acht-san was about to say something, but before I knew it, a cut appeared on his cheek as if something slashed it with a small blade. Acht-san is trembling where he stood as sweat began flowing down on his face like a waterfall—– and with movements too refined and no hesitation in them, he put his hands on the ground and lowered his head.

[M- M- My apologieeeeesssss! Elder Sister!]

(T/N: He’s calling him anego, the same way delinquents do in fiction.)

[………………]

[Ein-san was Kuromu-sama’s maid long before Raz and the others were born, and she’s the strongest of all of us gathered here today. Well, except for Kuromu-sama.]

[I- Is that so.]

[It’s alright, Miyama-san. As long as you don’t make careless remarks like Acht-sama, she’s usually a gentle and kind person.]

Something unfolded right in front of my eyes—- or so it seems? While Ein-san advised, or rather, intimidated Acht-san, Raz-san explained and Neun-san followed up with more explanation.

Apparently, the oldest and the strongest member of this group, with the exception of Kuro, is the maid, Ein-san. She’s a lot different from the maids that I know of……

[Kaito-kun, would you like alcohol? Juice?]

[Ah, then, I’d have alcohol—– “Here.”—— whoa!?]

W- What the heck happened just now? I’m 21 years old now, one year younger than Lilia-san and I’m not averse to drinking alcohol. And in response to Kuro’s question, I replied that I would drink alcohol since Acht-san invited me a while ago. Things are normal so far.

The moment that I answered though, Ein-san was already there, holding out a neatly poured cup of alcohol. She was supposed to be grilling meat a moment ago, but I couldn’t even hear when she suddenly appeared here…… Did she just teleport here? She’s someone who can freaking teleport!?

And it wasn’t just me, Kuro would obviously have her cup, but Sechs-san, Raz-san, Acht-san, and Neun-san, all of whom had cups in their hands at some point that matched their respective body sizes.

[Ah, Kaito. I know it’s unreasonable to say that you should be surprised since you’ve seen it for the first time…… but seriously, As long as Elder Sister Ein is in charge, we won’t be able to pour even a drop of alcohol for ourselves…… Well, you get used to it.]

[H- Huh……]

Maid-san is amazing…… No, could I even call her a maid at this point?

[Then, everyone has their drinks, so let’s get started! This time is to welcome Kaito-kun’s arrival from another world and of course, I may have talked to him about various things too, but I’m glad that Kaito-kun and everyone else are getting along with each other. Let’s just relax and have fun~!]

When Kuro speaks with the usual smile on her face, I felt my heart warm up a bit. In fact, after coming here, I have the impression that everyone, including Acht-san, has been welcoming me, and it’s so easy to talk with them.

In Lilia-san’s mansion, other than Lunamaria-san, I’m not sure “how to deal with other people” or should I treat them like “a guest does to servants”. It’s as if we’re talking to each other very naturally, without taking a step back in consideration for the other people. The fact that I can sense that they’re welcoming me without any malice nor curiosity for being an otherworlder, but just as Kuro’s friend. I guess that’s exactly what Kuro wanted when she planned for this barbecue.

Lifting my cup in time with Kuro’s movements, I felt a natural smile come to my face.

[Well then, cheers!]

[ [ [ [ [ [ Cheers!!! ] ] ] ] ] ]

The “seven” cups clinking together along with the cheers of our voices—— As if it’s obvious, Ein-san was also there as well huh!?

And then, I brought the slightly bitter beer-like alcohol to my mouth and when I put the cup back down to the table, there’s suddenly a freshly made barbecue on the small dish in front of me…… your timing is so perfect that it honestly looked scary instead, you know!?

I picked up this seemingly normal skewer of meat and vegetables stabbed at equal intervals and looked at Kuro, who nodded, before bringing the barbecue into my mouth. And then, I remembered. Wasn’t this dragon meat? I feel like a dragon would taste like lizards—- whoa, delicious!

As soon as I took a bite, the meat is so tender that the fibers come loose and I could feel a large amount of umami gushing into my mouth. The taste is like high-quality beef, seasoned only with salt and pepper. The food is so exquisite and I found myself devouring it.

Honestly, it’s not just the meat that’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten, the colorful vegetables in between couldn’t have been more exquisitely grilled and they seemed to multiply the overall flavor of the dish many times over.

[As expected of Ein-dono…… Excellent work.]

[That’s right~ It seems like all the vegetables are well grilled were enhancing the flavors!]

Sechs is eating a fish skewer and Raz-san is holding a skewer with just vegetables in his hand. They each have different sizes of skewers and I guess that means they’re tailored to their preferences? Acht-san have a skewer with a large piece of meat stuck on it and Neun-san have the same orthodox one as me…… or rather, Neun-san, you’re still in your full armor!? How the heck can you eat with that thing on you!?

However, this barbecue was so delicious that I didn’t have the time to think about it. Or rather, I finished the skewer in the blink of an eye. What should I have next…… I’d like to try the fish skewers that Sechs-san is eating too.

[Here.]

[……T- Thank you very much…… Errr, I don’t think I’ve said anything yet though?]

And in front of me, a fish skewer is held out of me as if it was obvious that this is what I wanted. Are you an esper? Ein-san, you’re an esper too!?

[Knowing what a person wants is one of the bare minimum needed for a maid.]

[I- Is that so……]

This maid is amazing! She’s out of this world!

And these fish skewers are completely freshly grilled…… Eh? Did she anticipate that I’d want this, and set the timing of when she grilled it so that the flavors are raised to the peak of flavors? Hahaha, there’s no way……

So, in that case, for example…… What if I finished my drink in this one sip, but I want another one?

[You’ve already poured one!?]

When the cup separated from my lips, before I knew it, alcohol has already been poured on my cup. Moreover, the rim of the cup is perfectly wiped clean…… Ein-san, could it be that you can stop time? No, I’m somewhat serious about that……

After all this time, I realized the meaning of what Acht-san said about not being able to pour even a drop of alcohol for ourselves as long as Ein-san is in charge.

Dear Mother, Father—– I have met lots of people. However, the strongest profession in this world may not be the Hero or the Sage—– It’s probably the maid.

It’s probably something like this……

Name: Ein

Skills:

Housekeeping Lv. Limitbreak

Super Acceleration

Intimidation

Invisible Attack

Teleportation

Time Stop

Mind Reading

etc.

Job: Perfect Maid