Chapter 6 - II -

 

And so, everything that begins well ends well.

 

“…”

 

Or so I thought.

 

“!!!”

 

I was about to sleep when I heard someone knocked on my door.

 

“Kuro?”  It’s Lily.

 

Although I could still recall what happened back when I was sick, it’s still the Head Maid.  I guess she’s back to her calm and collected self again?  Well, no matter, I opened the door.

 

“…”

 

And surprise, surprise!  With her was no other than Her Holiness the Saint.  Again.

 

“Err…what’s up?” I let them in.  Or rather, Her Holiness let herself in and sat on the nearest chair.  Well, this is her place anyway, so I rather keep my mouth shut.

 

“Well, Lily dragged me here because apparently she wanted to ask about the food you cooked before.” Her Holiness explained.

 

“Uh…I could’ve gone alone, Your Holiness.” Lily countered her; pouting and her arms crossed on her chest.

 

“Of course, I wouldn’t let you.” Her Holiness’ eyes stared at me, “Or there’ll be something ‘bad’ that would happen.”

 

Uhh…yeah she’s right.  I just want to live my life here in a peaceful, ‘healthy’ manner.

 

“Anyway, she wants to know about your food.” Her Holiness’ attention went to Lily, and then turned back to me, “And actually, I’m also surprised that you can cook, Kuro.”

 

“Well, I can, Your Holiness.  I had to.  I live alone back in my old world.”

 

“That’s rather sad, don’t you think?” Lily commented.

 

“Ohh…actually, I find it admirable.” Her Holiness quipped.

 

“Nah.  I’m used to it.  Back in my world, when you’re not popular with the ladies, be prepared to live alone.” I casually said to them, of course.  To hide that little bitterness within me.

 

“…”

 

Hey, don’t look at me with pity, Your Holiness.

 

“The ladies back in your land must’ve been fools,” Lily commented.

 

“Well, I think they’re just being intelligent.” I retorted.  I would also like to add, ‘And they don’t lust for their siblings, too,’ but I kept silent about it.

 

Her Holiness exploded, laughing.  She read my mind again.

 

I quickly changed the topic, “By the way, how d’you know about that time I cooked for Eris?”

 

“Well, Jessica imitated your dish and served it for my dinner,” Her Holiness explained.  “The flavor pleasantly surprised me and had Lily ask her, and she told us what happened.”

 

“Oh…”  

 

Wait, how did that bitch copy my dish?  If I remember, I didn’t offer her a single drop of it.  And Eris ate all that could be eaten, save for a few spoonfuls of the sauce…

 

Can it be—nah.  It’s impossible.  The bitch’s too arrogant to do what I had in mind.

 

“I’m even surprised when I read Jessica’s mind, that she would lick the empty bowls for a taste of the sauce.” Her Holiness added, “That proves how much she liked it.”

 

Good lord, I forgot this is a world of idiots.

 

 

Anyway, I explained to Lily and Her Holiness how to prepare and cook that dish I brought from my world.  Lily, as she was the Head Maid, listened to my instructions, focused as if I’m the only person who mattered to her.  Her Holiness the Saint, as her usual random self, just loitered around my room, floating and swooping down whenever she pleased.

 

Honestly, you might hit someone if you do that, Your Holiness!

 

But Her Holiness ignored me and continued what she was doing.  Maybe she’s not in the mood to read my mind?

 

So, I turned my attention to Lily, “Uh, Lily, you may put a little distance between us, you know?”

 

“Hmm?  I won’t be able to hear from you if I did that, Kuro.”

 

“Well, you could sit properly, at least,” I suggested.  She was leaning her head on my shoulder.

 

“I can understand you better in this position.”

 

Seriously?

 

Lily was kind of clingy this time.  And with Her Holiness flying around and keeping a watchful eye on us, it made the atmosphere inside the room extremely awkward.

 

“…”

 

“Well, you cooked for Eris, Kuro,” spite filled Lily’s voice, “I think it’s not too much of me to ask for your shoulder to lean on.”

 

“Err…but we’re not—”

 

“Ahem.” I could hear Her Holiness clear her throat.

 

I need to be done with this quickly.

 

“A-anyway…” I continued my explanation, “Just let the food simmer until the seasonings dried up a little.  You’ll know it when the sauce becomes thick.  If that happens, you turn off the fire.”

 

“Oh, that’s pretty easy,” Lily commented.

 

“It is.  That’s why it’s the one I cooked for Eris.” I inserted that explanation, “There’s nothing special about it, you know.”

 

Lily fell silent.  She just continued, leaning her head on my shoulder.  I could feel the air of impending doom emanating from her as she tightened her grip on my arm.

 

“…”

 

Man, honestly, I didn’t find this bad; you know.  Having someone who’s romantically attached with you, and stuff like that.  And I think that’s pretty cute of her…Uhh, at this rate, I’d like to propose to you to be my girlfriend.

 

But Lily was head over heels about her dead brother, and because of that, I couldn’t exploit her feelings for my benefit, no matter how weird it was.

 

“…”

 

Besides, Eris is like a little sister to me, and it can’t be possible that she sees me as a potential lover.  I’m ugly and an idiot.

 

“Oi.”  It was Her Holiness, interrupting my train of thought, “You shouldn’t talk about other girls when someone is with you, you know.”

 

Come on, Eris is a kid, Your Holiness!

 

“She’s still a girl.” she countered.

 

God, it’s really hard to understand ladies.

 

“Ah anyway…” I remembered something I needed to ask Lily, “Now that we’re talking about Eris, I’d like to call your attention to a matter concerning her.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Well, it’s about her workload.” I explained, “Not that I’m meddling with your duties as Her Holiness’ servants, I just think her assignment in cleaning the entire library is too much.  I mean, with a little body such as hers, she might get sick quickly or end up getting injured permanently.”

 

“Huh?” Lily sat upright with a confused look. “Why would Eris do that?  She’s assigned to Her Holiness’ Grooming Department, not the Housekeeping.”

 

“Eh?” now it’s my turn to be surprised, “But she’s been doing that ever since I got summoned here.  You think maybe Eris wanted to help with the other department’s duties?”

 

“That can’t be possible!” Lily shook her head, “We restrict our assignments in this place to us and only us.  We can’t take over someone else’s work!  Plus, it is also an impossible feat to clean the Saint’s library by herself!  What’s the Housekeeping Department doing all this time?”

 

“Something’s not right.” Her Holiness finally entered the conversation, “That maid Eris got assigned to me because she was still a child.  It’d be bad if she got sick because of the heavy work.”

 

“I will look into this matter, Your Holiness.” Lily had a grim expression on her face.  It’s as if she’s about to hit someone for this problem.

 

“Yes, please do, Lily!” Her Holiness nodded.

 

“I will, Your Holiness.”

 

“Yeah, investigate it.”

 

“Of course, I will, Your Holiness.”

 

“Uhh…so are you two going to continue trading answers and not do something?” I had to intervene; this was looking more stupid every minute that passed.

 

“Right…” Lily gracefully stood up and bowed, “I’ll go ahead then.”

 

She closed the door with a soft click.

 

 

Ah, at last, I’m alone…

 

Well, make that ‘almost alone’.  Her Holiness remained long after Lily went out to check on Eris.

 

Err…what are you still doing here, Your Holiness?

 

“What’s the matter?” she replied with a question, “This is my house as well, you know.”

 

Well, yeah, I know that.  What I mean is, don’t you think that if someone else sees you inside my room, people will misunderstand and spread stupid rumors?

 

“Well, you said it: ‘stupid’ rumors.  You think such petty words will affect me?” Her Holiness laughed.

 

Ah, you still need to think about your image, after all.  I’m a boy and it’s kind of adverse publicity to have you spend time here alone with me.  Even if you’re a Saint, you’re still a girl inside.

 

“Err, I—” Her Holiness was taken aback by what I had in mind.  Even if I’m much older than her, the Saint’s still a lady, and a stranger too, technically.  Gender had nothing to do here, it’s all about morals and ethics.  “K-Kuro, you i-idiot…” Her Holiness’ face was flustered, “You know how to play with a woman’s heart.”

 

What?  I’m just thinking about your welfare and you’re accusing me of being a gigolo?

 

“W-will you try to s-speak?  I l-look stupid here reading your mind.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Ahem.” Her Holiness cleared her throat, “A-anyway, uh…the reason I didn’t leave is that I need to tell you something.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“I’d like…” Her Holiness’ voice was soft; with meek eyes, she looked at me, “I’d like to thank you for taking care of my servants, Kuro.  Not only to Eris now but also for what you did to Lily before…”

 

“Oh…uhm, don’t worry about it.  I just did what I had to.” Well, it’s not that bad to see this side of the Saint.  I mean, her puppy eyes were too cute for me to behold.

 

“Hmph!  Of course, I’m cute as always!” Her Holiness was back to her usual conceited self.  

 

I think I like this version better, though.

 

“S-shut up!” the Saint went back to her cute blushing side.  

 

What the hell?  What version is the real you?

 

“So, yeah.  Now that I said my thanks, I’ll now proceed with my warning.”

 

“Eh?  Warning, Your Holiness?” It shocked me to hear those words.  Did she come here to warn me about my ‘perverted’ thoughts?

 

“Yep.  Be careful with my servants, Kuro.” Her Holiness had a happy, smiling face as she spoke, “You might end up being a wanted fugitive by the noble families in all of Chersea soon, you know.”

 

“Eh?” I almost jumped from my bed, “Why is that so?  I have done nothing wrong with them!”

 

“Well, I know you didn’t.” Her Holiness playfully floated, “It’s just that, I don’t think any of those families will accept an otherworldly human with no apparent charming attributes other than his sincerity and sound mind as their kin.”

 

“W-what are you talking about?”

 

“I guess you need to know by now…” the Saint laughed; she’s enjoying this, having me ran around in circles, “All of my servants are royal princesses, duchesses, and other members of the Chersea nobility.”

 

What the hell?

 

“Lilyhaven Tamriel von Leese is a princess of the Kingdom of Nerfes to the north.  And Eris Braunhauer is a duchess from the Kingdom of Amaranth to the southwest.  If I may remember, she’s a daughter of the former Vizier.”

 

Oh, good lord…they’re bigshots!

 

“So yeah, I’m just warning you.” Her Holiness casually told me, “And I’m not saying that you can’t marry them; it depends on them and their families if they will accept you.”

 

“Uhh…I’m not thinking of helping and seducing them, Your Holiness.”

 

“I know.  I can see through your heart and mind, remember?  That’s why I trust you.  However, I cannot say the same for those girls and their families.”

 

“Ah, thanks for the warning, Your Holiness.”

 

Honestly, I’m relieved when the Saint herself said she trusted me.  Well, whatever; I guess I’ll just continue what I was doing while trying to avoid further complications.

 

“Okay, so with that, I guess I need to be off to my room!” she happily chirped.  And with that, Her Holiness disappeared from my sight; she used her teleportation magic.

 

That Saint does what she feels, huh?  Ah, anyway, time to sleep.

 

“…”

 

Now that I thought about it, if all the servants here were royalty and nobility, then…

 

That explains the arrogant attitude of that bitch, Jessica!