Perhaps, they continued cleaning the mansion throughout the night? In
front of the mansion, which was cleaned so nicely that you'd think it
was a new building, most of the employees serving the Albert Duchy
are assembled.
The sight of Lilia-san and the others neatly aligned from the gate to the
front door of the mansion is quite a sight to behold. It's almost as if it
shows how important the being who will be visiting here are and the
air around them is filled with a tense, skin-tingling tension.
Today is the seventh day of the fire month, and noon is about to come
—– and Kuro will be here soon.
I don't know if it's because of those things she needs to do that she
mentioned the other night or the fact that she'll be visiting today
anyway, but Kuro didn't appear in my room last night, and that's partly
why I'm feeling nervous.
In the quiet silence of the air, I look at the pocket watch in my hand. The
moment the ticking second-hand circles around and the time indicates
that noon has arrived—– the air changed.
[ ! ? ]
If I were to compare it to something, it would be as if the air around us
had suddenly turned heavy or something like that… A heavy pressure
began weighing on my body.
The scenery ahead of us trembled as if we're looking at a mirage, and in
front of the wide-open gate, Kuro appeared.
She still had her black coat wrapped around her body, but Kuro doesn't
have the usual smile on her face, and the atmosphere she had is
different from usual.
The people around her, including Lilia-san and I, spontaneously found
ourselves bowing our heads. It's as if everything in the surrounding
space was prostrating themselves in front of her, and only the sound of
Kuro's footsteps echoed within the silence.
Her beautiful silver-white hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her
golden eyes silently gazed only in front of her.
That is surely—- the march of a king.
It was supposed to be a solo march with no other members around her,
but there was a tremendous presence and a sense of intimidation
around her, as if tens of thousands of troops were marching.
It has only been a few seconds of walking from the gate to the front
door. We can't look away, we can't speak, and we can't even breath as
we watched as the Absolute walked filled with confidence.
Thereupon, Kuro stands in front of deeply bowing Lilia-san and calmly
spoke.
[My apologies for coming on such a short notice. Duchess Albert.]
[T- There's no need for apologies… Welcome, thank you for coming.
Underworld King Kuromueina-sama.]
[Unnn. I know this is very sudden, I'd like to take my time talking to
you, so would it be alright for us to go in?]
[Of course. Please come in…]
Exchanging greetings with Lilia-san with her calm, but a surely majestic
voice, Kuro walked straight into the mansion, guided by Lilia-san.
Instead of the small reception room, we moved to a neatly decorated
reception hall, and inside, only Lilia-san, Lunamaria-san, me, Kusunokisan, Yuzuki-san, and few servants entered, and then, the large door
closed.
Feeling Kuro's overwhelming presence that is so different from the
atmosphere she usually had that even a large room like this feels small,
I looked at her, confused from seeing Kuro acting in a way I've never
seen before.
Thereupon, when I met eyes with Kuro, she looked back at me with the
usual bright smile on her face, and the pressure that had been weighing
down on me immediately disappeared afterward.
[What do you think of that, Kaito-kun? My serious mode! Aren't I
cool!!?]
[...…]
She just ruined the majestic image she had just now. I'll repeat this
twice because it's that important, she just ruined the majestic she had
just now.
I would like it if you give back all the reverence I had in you and the
thoughts that I had that you really are the Underworld King after I saw
your "majesty". Also, even if that smug face of yours looks cute, it's still
kind of annoying.
Anyway, it seems that Kuro's serious mode disappeared and her normal
mode returned, as she is now talking to me with the bright smile she
usually had.
And thus, even though I was stunned by the change in her behavior, I
accepted Lilia-san's suggestion to sit down, so as I took a seat in front of
the large table, the person in front of me looks at me and taps the seat
next to her.
[Kaito-kun, here, here.]
[…Errr… Unnn. Alright.]
It seems like she wants me to sit next to her, and as I don't know what
to do, I looked towards Lilia-san, who silently nodded her head.
What she means is that she wants me to go along with Kuro's wish.
Recognizing that, I went along with what Kuro wanted and sat next to
her.
Now then, what should I do about this… The fact that she's back to how
she normally acts means that she's probably going to sulk if I
respectfully spoke to her, so I guess it would be better if I talk to her like
I usually do huh?
[Kuro is the Underworld King huh…]
[Ahh~ That seems to be the case, but the people around me just called
me that for their own convenience and I've never really introduced
myself with that~~]
[Certainly, somehow, I feel like you wouldn't fit the image of someone
with a title like that.]
[Ahaha, that's right~]
Seeing me talking to Kuro with the tone I usually had, Lilia-san looked
pale, but Kuro doesn't seem to be bothered by it and replied with a
bright smile on her face.
And in front of Kuro, Lunamaria-san brought a cup of tea, looking
extremely nervous.
[U- Underworld King-sama… P- Please have some tea…]
[Thanks~~, arehh?]
[ ! ? ]
Seeing the tea that Lunamaria-san placed down in front of her, Kuro
looked at Lunamaria-san's face and tilted her head after saying a few
words of thanks.
Seeing her reacting to something, Lunamaria-san thought that she had
probably done something careless, so she hurriedly got on her knees
and tried to bow, but immediately afterward, she stiffened at the words
Kuro had said.
[You, we met about ten years ago, didn't we?]
[ ! ? ! ? ]
[If I'm not mistaken… You're Lunamaria-chan, right?]
[…S- So you… remembered me…]
After catching on to the words that Kuro said, Lunamaria-san's eyes
widened as if to say she couldn't believe it, it's as if she's stunned as she
muttered so.
[Of course, I remember you. How's your mother doing?]
[~~!? Y- Yes! Thanks to Underworld King-sama, she could even be
described as the embodiment of healthiness itself!]
[I see, that's good.]
[Yes… All of it was thanks to Underworld King-sama. I couldn't even
express my gratitude for that time…]
Come to think of it, Lilia-san did say that Lunamaria-san had met Kuro
before, and at that time, she began to adore the Underworld King at the
level of a zealot?
Lunamaria-san didn't think that Kuro would remember her after only
meeting once, and she looked like she's overcome with emotions, she
brought her hand together and deeply bowed her head.
[Don't worry about that. You've grown up huh. I'm glad that we met
again.]
[ ~ ~ ! ? ! ? Y- Your words… are wasted for this lowly me.]
With a bright smile on her face, Kuro pats Lunamaria-san's head, while
Lunamaria-san is overcome with emotions again and bursts into tears.
I can only assume from their exchange that something must have
happened to Lunamaria-san's mother and Kuro helped her out with
that.
In other words, she owes a great debt of gratitude to her, and that's why
she admires her so much. It was quite a good story, isn't it…
And then, after Lunamaria-san went on and thanked Kuro repeatedly,
she got up and went back behind Lilia-san, but on the way there, I could
hear her quietly muttering something.
[…Underworld King-sama… called me by my name… she patted me… to
feel such happiness… I think I could now die in peace…]
[...…]
Unnn. Lunamaria-san… Don't you think that the needle of your vector
has already swung too far past the feeling of gratitude? She has an
expression on her face that looks like ecstasy, her face is all red like a
maiden in love, and her gaze has only been focused on Kuro some time
ago…
Dear Mom, Dad—— It looks like Lunamaria-san was helped by Kuro a
long time ago. However, even if I were to take that into account,
Lunamaria-san—–really is a zealot.