At any rate, the notification to Ein-san, which should be the most difficult task, is now over. Leaving behind some injury to Alice's psyche, that is.
[...Haahhh... Seriously, why can't we just make it QuasiKing-Rank or Grand Duke-Rank...]
[Because you couldn't convince Ein-san with that, so you had to make do with Maid-rank, right? I mean, why couldn't you just have Ein-san be a king in name only? If you just put the word maid on it...]
[That's impossible. If I really could convince her with such a clever method, I wouldn't have created the "World Maid Association", "Maidology", "Maid Olympia" and other such stupid stuff. Ein-san's obsession with Maids is so extraordinary that if I just attach the word King to it, she will seriously get mad and attack me.]
[...I- I see.]
W- Well, Ein-san's obsession with maids certainly is on the level that could be called insanity. It's not enough if you just attach maid to stuff, as you would also need to understand the way they are.
In this case, I think her dissatisfaction with her former title, Duke, was already at a maximum, so she responded immediately when offered with Maid-rank.
[If anything, Ein-san is considerably conceding this time as well. It's quite good that she didn't complain when the "level", "rank" or "High-ranking Demon" was attached to it... Seriously, it makes me feel nostalgic about that time I worked so hard to convince her to accept the title "Duke"...]
[Rather, even when you had conditions attached to it, I'm surprised you were able to convince Ein-san.]
[It was a real struggle. I even asked Kuro-san to help me persuade her, but she still didn't agree, or rather, Ein-san even rebelled against Kuro-san back then... I mean, that's the only time I've ever seen her making things difficult... Kuro-san looked troubled back then, but probably because she felt refreshed seeing Ein-san sulking, she seemed a little happy.]
[Her parental love won her over huh... Seriously, I wonder how you were able to convince her in the end.]
Indeed, it must have been quite difficult to get Ein-san, who was so sad by not wearing a maid uniform, looking as if it was the end of the world, to agree not to deny the title of Duke-rank, even if it was only other people who acknowledged her as such.
No, in fact, it would probably be quite a struggle even if Kuro and I were working together.
[...Speaking of which, I know that would still be in the foreseeable future, but what if someone comes along who is far above a Duke-rank? Would you raise them up to Maid-rank?]
[No, in that case, I can just have them become the Seventh King... It was just a new superior rank that I prepared because making Ein-san a King would make her mad... So you could say it's a special category just for Ein-san? I mean, hearing that what awaits them after training as a Duke-rank is Maid-rank, only Ein-san would be motivated by that.]
[I guess you're right. Well, in the end, it's only Ein-san who was in that special category, so you don't have to be so down about it...]
[No, even if that were the case, it was practically the highest rank among the Peerage-ranks, so I kinda feel reluctant... I was thinking it would be great if that title had a cooler name... Even though I had already given up beforehand, Alice-chan still suffered some psychological injury here.]
[...I see, by the way, can I ask you something?]
[What is it?]
I understand Alice's story. I also understood that it was the only way to persuade Ein-san, and that even though she knew it, she didn't like the fact that the Maid-rank, a seemingly gag rank, existed.
However, putting that aside, there's one thing I'd like to ask here.
[...Why am I giving you a "piggyback"?]
Yes, I'm currently moving around with Alice on my back, and despite the fact that I'm currently giving her a piggyback, I'm not quite sure how we got into this situation.
[Alice-chan here has been psychologically injured and am now recharging.]
[What are you even charging by riding on my back...]
[..."My hopes and dreams"... I guess?]
[A rather fluffy reason!?]
Riding on my back charges up your hopes and dreams... Like hell that's possible!
Even though I threw such a tsukkomi in my mind, I just let her be with a sigh. It's probably true that Alice is tired, and she probably wants to be pampered by me, her lover.
[...Well, I think you did a good job holding out there.]
[Ahh, that feels great. Kaito-san, please pamper me like that. I'm the type of person who thrives on being spoiled.]
[...For someone who becomes embarrassed when I actually spoil you, how the heck could you say that?]
[Please make some kind of good adjustments in that area. I'd like to have some pampering that isn't too much that I'd get embarrassed, just the right amount to heal my heart.]
[Y- You're quite detailed with your orders huh...]
I let out a sigh of exasperation at Alice 's response, but well, acting spoiled around me like this once in a while is proof how Alice had opened up her heart to me, so it doesn't feel that bad.