Kinzo’s POV
   There were youkais everywhere Kinzo looks. He’s familiar with some of them, others he’s not. Still, it matters not. The only things that matter are that the onis are on their side, and he had to explicitly tell Rei-san not to attack them as he was supposed to.

   The fight is scary. No, this “fight” is done on such a large scale it’s practically a war. The point Kinzo tries to make is he’s absolutely freaking out right now. Just last week, not getting fired from his job was on his priority list, followed by visiting Rei-san whenever he can. Now? He has to make sure that he and Rei-san survive this and every other fights in one piece.

   “If you ever got in a fight, know when to run. It’s very important to remember that since it could decide whether you live or die.” Silver Wolf told him during one training session.

   “What if someone got caught up in it and can’t escape?”

   “If you can rescue them, that’s all well and good. If not-”

   He shrugged.

   “But, that means I would have to leave that person to die!” Kinzo protested.

   “Listen, one of the things that I learned as a Hero that went to another world is that sacrificing yourself to save others is the epitome of stupidity. It doesn’t matter how many lives you’ve saved. It won’t mean a thing if you’re dead. Am I right?”

   Kinzo can’t argue against that at all.

   “I’m not sure I can do it. My conscience will definitely get in my way.”

   “Kill that conscience, then. There’s nothing more important than self-preservation and you know it.”

   “...I’ll do my best.”

   That was a total flag that he raised. Kinzo don’t know when, but now that he said something like that, he definitely has to make the choice of saving himself or risking his life for someone one of these days.

   “Let’s stop for a while, Reina.”

   “Yes, K-sama.”

   K for Kubo and/or Kinzo. It still sounds kind of lame, but it’s still better than Maid Master.

   Kinzo takes a look around. Arguably, it’s a little difficult to do so since the sky has already gone dark. Even so, the lights from lamp posts, buildings and etc are strong enough to illuminate most of the city.

   The whole place has become a mess from the invasion of the youkais. Buildings have crumbled, vehicles are destroyed, and he can hear the sounds of fighting coming from nearby. And it took him a while to notice this, but it would seem that he and Rei-san were separated from Silver Wolf and Hanya Mask. There isn’t even any onis around. The lack of allies in the near vicinity made him nervous. If something really strong appeared, he doubt he and Rei-san could take care of it all by themselves-

   Oh dear, there he goes again raising a flag by himself here. He shakes his head in order to clear it. This mission is far from over, and he really needs to concentrate. Then again, it’s very hard to do that when he’s walking around with Rei-san of all people, not to mention that they’re all by themselves. Thinking of her makes Kinzo’s gaze falls to her like it always does.

   Ever since Kinzo was little, he had no luck with girls. He’s slightly overweight, he’s not handsome, nor is he smart or athletic. Worst of all, he’s an anime nerd who spent his time reading mangas and watching anime. No girl in their right mind would find him attractive. They wouldn’t even go near him. He’s that creepy to them.

   Being constantly looked down by girls made Kinzo turn to maids. Professional maids would serve their master with all their heart, no matter how disgusting he is. Which is why he’s so thankful to Rei-san. Even if it’s her job, she has never wrinkled her nose whenever she sees Kinzo. Rather, she always welcomed him with open arms and with a bright smile.

   And now look what he did to her. She can’t even think for herself while they’re connected through the mana thread. He would love to give her more freedom by severing it every once in a while, but Silver Wolf stopped him.

   “It’s getting very dangerous out here these days. If you disconnect from her, she might not be able to protect herself.” he said.

   “But, what about her regular life?” Kinzo protested.

   “I hate to be blunt, but you’re the one who ruined it.”

   And he’s absolutely right. It doesn’t matter that it was a mere fantasy of a sad nerd, and it doesn’t matter that Kinzo didn’t mean to drag Rei-san into this. He did end up getting her involved in this, and that’s all it matters. Silver Wolf did tell him that what happened has happened, and he shouldn’t blame himself too much for it. But Kinzo can’t stop berating himself every time he sees Rei-san walking around like a string-controlled puppet.

   “How are you faring with your private life so far, Reina?” Kinzo asks Rei-san.

   “I am successful in balancing it up along with the training we receive.” she replies.

   “I see. Are you getting along with your parents? What about your friends?”

   “My parents may or may not be suspecting what I am doing outside, but they never chose to pry.”

   “They must trust you a great deal.”

   “I am on the opinion that it is the exact opposite, that they have lose faith in me and want little to nothing to do with me.”

   “What? Why would they think that?”

   “You see, my family runs a prestigious kendo school that has 300 students. I was expected to succeed it since a very young age. Day after day after day, I honed my skills in kendo to answer the expectations of my parents. That is, until a certain incident happened.”

   There it is, a dark past. Kinzo was surprised that Rei-san of all people have one. Then again, she’s a human too.

   “It was three years ago. I had a sparring match with one of the students.” Rei-san continues without being prompted. “The winning score was three, and both of us were one point short. She was faster and got a point from me first. My father, who was the referee of the match, showered her with praise. Meanwhile, he bombarded me with harsh words and criticism. I was so frustrated I challenged the student to another match.”

   Rei-san did not speak for a few seconds. Kinzo waited patiently until she opens her mouth once more.

   “I managed to strike her head. The impact was enough to knock her to the ground. Even so, I did not stop. I kept striking, and striking, and striking until my father had to physically restrain me.”

   Kinzo could barely stop himself from letting out a gasp.

   “Was it because all the pent-up stress you had?” he asks.

   She nods to confirm.

   “I am not making any excuse. After all, I should have known better than to let my emotion get the better of me. Still, the damage was already done. The only good news is that the student was protected by the armor she was wearing, and thus escaping the worst of the injuries. After that, I have stopped training kendo, and my parents were so disappointed in me that they no longer pressure me to become the heir.” she ends.

   Wow, that’s just sad. Kinzo then realized something.

   “Wait a second. Were you traumatized by that incident?”

   “Pretty much, yes.”

   “But, why didn’t you say a thing when Silver Wolf was asking you all those questions?”

   “The reason is simple, my master. My personal problem is nothing compared to being strong and be of use to you.”

   Okay, his power is straight up inhumane.

   “As to the second part of your question, I am getting along pretty well with my friends.” she continues as if nothing is wrong.

   “Won’t all our training affect the time you spent together?”

   “Almost not at all. We do see each other in college, and they will come to Wonder Parlour to visit me every once in a while.”

   Now that she mentioned it, Kinzo occasionally saw Rei-san chatting happily with four girls when he was at Wonder Parlour. Those must be her friends.

   “I see. And um, well…”

   “Yes, master?”

   “...No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

   “If you say so, master.”

   “What about your boyfriend?” “Are you spending enough time with him?” are the questions that Kinzo is too scared to ask. Someone as amazing as Rei-san will definitely have a boyfriend or even a fiancé. Kinzo wants to know as little about him as possible.

   A cold wind blew by. He looks at Rei-san’s maid uniform. That clothing is definitely not meant to be worn on such a cold weather. He accesses his vault and takes out his jacket.

   “Put this on, Reina.” he orders her as he hands her the jacket.

   “Understood, master.”

   One of Kinzo’s stupid fantasy involves walking around with his girlfriend on a cold day like this. He would then offer her his jacket like a gentleman. She would thank him with a smile and wears his jacket that has his smell on it. Ah, such a blissful scene. Too bad that he’s feeling zero joy when the fantasy happened for real. For one thing, Rei-san is not his girlfriend.

   “The weather’s getting cold these days. Maybe we could get you a clothes made from thick wool so that you won’t catch a cold.”

   “I shall wear whatever master wants me to.”

   “But, this is about your body. Don’t you care?”

   “As a maid, my master’s orders prioritize my own free will. I shall follow each and every of your orders if it means pleasing you.”

   “...I see.”

   Strange. If it was the old him, he would have been overjoyed if a girl said something like that to him. Now, he just hates it. Borrowing her words, she said it to please him. She’s not saying it out of her own free will. To be honest, he thinks that it’s better this way since he knows exactly what’s going to happen if she ever got to speak her mind.

   “You are one horrible person. Please don’t come near me ever again.” she would say to him with cold eyes that are akin to looking at a walking trash.

   He can never recover from that.

   “Is something wrong, master? You look gloomy.”

   “Oh, don’t mind me. Rather than that, let’s continue with our patrol.”

   “Yes, master.”

   They walk in silence for a while. It’s been almost five minutes, but no youkais are seen. Have all of them been defeated, or have they ran away? Or is it that they’re laying in low and waiting for a chance to strike?

   “By the way, how’s your body so far Reina?”

   “I am faring quite well, thank you. I have never slacked in my training, and it seemed to pay off well.”

   “I see. I’m just glad that you’re able to protect yourself.”

   “I could also protect you from any and all incoming harm, master.”

   …And the line that was supposed to be said by him was stolen. He’s so worthless.

   “I’m glad to have you with me-”

   What he was about to say was interrupted by a loud rattling. It came from some distance away, but it was still loud enough to reach his ears.

   “Did you hear something, Reina? Like some weird rattling sounds?” he asks Rei-san in case he was just hearing things.

   “Indeed I have, master.”

   “So I wasn’t just hearing things, then.”

   Next, there’s dreadful rumbling of the ground. It’s like there’s an earthquake. And it stopped. And it happened again. Wait a second. This is no earthquake. It’s the vibration caused by a footstep done by something huge.

   “That can’t be good.” Kinzo mumbles.

   Should they retreat and leave it to Silver Wolf? Should they at least go and check it out? Before Kinzo could decide, they saw it. It’s inevitable, really. It’s as big as a building that has thirty floors.

   What they saw is a giant skeleton. Even with Kinzo’s limited knowledge on youkais, he still know what he’s looking at. A Gashadokuro.

   The bare minimum that Kinzo knows about this skeleton youkai is that it was created from the grudges of the people who died in battle and were not buried. And it’s huge. The last part is obvious enough.

   And then, more and more footsteps are heard. More and more of the youkai appear as well. Kinzo doesn’t know how youkais as huge as them managed to stat hidden until they’re so close, but here they are.

   He also sees something perching on the shoulder of one of the huge skeleton. It has red skin, three heads and six arms. All the arms are holding weapons: a chakram, a scimitar, a double-bladed battle axe, a whip, a spiked mace and a katar, also known as a punch dagger. Great, even an Ashura came out.

   One of the Gashadokuro spots Kinzo and Rei-san and proceeds to walk towards them. Due to its huge step it can take due to its size, it managed to reach them before Kinzo could decide on what to do. At the next moment, it reaches out its bony hand and try to grab them.

   “Get behind me, Reina!” Kinzo shouts.

   Rei-san does as he says, and he cast Barrier in front of him to protect them from the skeleton’s hand. The Barrier works its magic, and the skeleton’s hand is deflected.

   The skeleton looks at its hand, as if wondering what just happened. It then looks at Kinzo and Rei-san. This time, it clenches its hand into a fist and tries to punch through the invisible barrier.

   SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!

   The skeleton is persistently trying to break the barrier. Meanwhile, Kinzo is freaking out.

   What to do what to do what to do?

   And to make things worse, some of the skeleton’s friends have also noticed Kinzo and Rei-san. Kinzo isn’t sure that his Barrier could hold them all back. It can’t be helped.

   “I’m going to undo the Barrier in a moment, Reina! When I do, chop off his arm!” Kinzo orders.

   “Understood, master!”

   Kinzo matches the timing when the Gashadokuro reaches back its arm and undo the Barrier. Upon getting the signal, Rei-san charges forward and jumps to its right arm. Before it could react, she slices off its arm with her scimitar.

   The skeleton lets out a loud squeal that made Kinzo’s ears suffer. Kinzo didn’t even know that’s possible as it lacks a tongue and its entire throat. Then again, a walking giant skeleton is already pretty ridiculous, so what does he know?

   “We’re going to run away in the opposite direction, Reina! Follow me!” Kinzo orders next while turning to the opposite direction.

   “I shall be right behind you, master!”

   They managed to walk ten steps before something landed right in front of them. It’s the Ashura. How the hell did it came all the way here in such a short time?

   Upon closer look, the three-headed youkai looks even more intimidating. It’s almost three-meters tall, and its muscles are huge. Worst of all, all three of its faces have a ferocious look on them. Kinzo’s legs are trembling from their intense glares. Just one look, and Kinzo could tell that it’s way out of their league.

   To make things worse, the Gashadokuro that got its arm chopped off by Rei-san is right behind them. It and a few of its friends along with the Ashura have Kinzo and Rei-san completely surrounded. It was then when the middle face of the Ashura opens its mouth.

   “I shall take care of these two myself.” it tells the skeletons.

   Almost immediately, the Gashadokuros went on standby mode and are just standing there. Upon knowing that the Ashura can speak, Kinzo decides to make a gamble. He bows politely at the three-headed youkai.

   “Good day to you, sir youkai. I-”

   “Save your meaningless prattle, mortal.” the Ashura interrupts.

   “But I haven’t even finish talking yet!” Kinzo complains.

   “You do not have to. You wish me to spare your life, correct?”

   “Actually, I-”

   “Again, do not waste your breath. My comrades and I are here for one thing and one thing only: to lay waste upon this land of yours.”

   The Gashadokuros around them rattle their teeth for added dramatic effect. They kept on going until the Ashura raised one of his hand.

   “Can’t we have a compromise? I’m sure we could talk it out.” Kinzo pleads.

   The middle face of the Ashura grits his teeth in anger. The other two faces mirrored the movement.

   “I swear, this is why humans make me lose temper. If you are a man, you should converse with fists, not your mouth! Why, when I step foot at this world several hundred years ago-”

   That’s it, keep talking. While he’s being distracted, Silver Wolf will definitely arrive and slaughter them all. Rather, it’s a miracle that he’s not here yet, considering that the giant skeletons are so tall Kinzo is sure that they could be seen from miles away-

   “Are you listening to me, mortal?”

   That dragged Kinzo back from his inner monologue.

   “Um, pardon me. What was it that you were saying?”

   “I said: enough talk, we will settle this with a brawl!”

   “Now now, let’s not rush things.”

   Anytime now, Silver Wolf. Kinzo doubt that he can stall the Ashura any longer-

   His phone vibrates, indicating that he just received a message.

   “Excuse me sir youkai, I need a few seconds to check on something.” he pleads.

   “...Fine, make it quick!”

   Kinzo thanks the youkai and takes out his phone. On the screen shows a single LINE message from Silver Wolf. They’ve exchanged contact information a few days ago in case something like this happened.

   “You’re on your own here.”