The 15th Day of the Light month. I thought it would be nice to relax in
my room once in a while, so I was currently busy reading in my room.
Incidentally, the book I'm currently reading is "Eating Tour in its
Entirety Guide: Symphonia Kingdom ~~Volume: Food Stalls~~",
written by Kuro.
There were apparently several different types of Eating Tour Guides
just for Symphonia Kingdom alone, and I'm now reading them in order.
Naturally, there are many of these restaurants I don't know about, but
it's interesting to read Kuro's subjective impressions and evaluations of
them. I also marked the restaurants I wanted to try, thinking of going
there to eat next time.
While I was thinking about this, a knock resounded at the door of my
room.
[Yes? It's open.]
[Excuse my intrusion.]
[…Lunamaria-san?]
When I replied that they could come in, the door opened and
Lunamaria-san came in, pushing a cart with a pot of tea on it.
Is she bringing me tea? How rare…
[My Lady got some good tea leaves and is giving them to everyone…
Should I brew it for you?]
[Ahh, is that so. Thank you. Then, please.]
[I respectfully obey.]
Lunamaria-san, bringing me a cup of tea, skillfully brewed tea when I
asked her to.
Hmmm. Lunamaria-san looks like a woman who can do things when
she's working… The troubling part is when she becomes mischievous,
she will instantly become a useless maid.
Well, even if that's so, I can rely on her in times of need, and she's
serious when it comes to work, so she doesn't only have bad qualities.
[…Here you go.]
[Thank you… Unnn, it's delicious.]
[I'm glad to hear that you liked it. It seems like Miyama-sama is in the
middle of readi… Eh?]
[Unnn?]
After smiling when I told her how I felt about the tea, Lunamaria-san
opened her mouth to leisurely chat with me… but she stiffened when
she saw the book on the table.
[Mi- Miya- Miyama-sama!? C- C- C- Could that be… Underworld Kingsama's… Eating Tour in its Entirety Guide!?]
[Eh? Yes, it is. You knew about it?]
[Of course, I knew about it!!!]
[Uwooohhh!?]
Lunamaria-san vigorously approached… Ahh~~ Come to think of it,
Lunamaria-san was Kuro's fanatic. I see, Alice certainly said that
members of the Underworld King Adoration Association wanted to get
their hands on this book.
[T- This is the first time I've seen the real thing… S- So this is the
legendary…]
[…H- Huhh…]
[As a "7-digit member" of the prestigious Underworld King Adoration
Society, I wanted to see it at least once too!]
[T- There are that many people in the Underworld King Adoration
Society huh…]
I wonder how many members Underworld King Adoration Society
have? Lunamaria-san said that she's a 7-digit member, so does that
mean there are at least a million members? Seriously?
Incidentally, while she's explaining this, Lunamaria-san's gaze never left
the book. She's really fixated on it.
[…Ummm, would you like to read it?]
[Would it be alright!?]
[Hyiihhh… Y- Yes, which volume do you want?]
[Which volume? M- Miyama-sama, by any chance… You possess several
books of the Eating Tour in its Entirety Guide?]
[Ah, yes… I have all the volumes.]
[All volumes!?]
When Kuro gave me these books, she said that it was the complete set,
so I think it probably is the entire set.
When I told Lunamaria-san about it, her eyes widened.
[…I- I never expected that you would have all the volumes… A- As
expected of Miyama-sama. Rumor has it that only the president has all
the volumes, and even though I heard of its existence during the final
interview…]
[Final interview? Eh? Does that mean you need some kind of exam to
join the Underworld King Adoration Association?]
[Yes, there are three exams: written exam, suitability inspection, and
the practical exam, and after these tests were three sets of interviews.]
[What the heck is that, that's scary.]
What kind of organization is this Underworld King Adoration
Association!? Written exam? Practical exam? What the heck is that?
[…Incidentally, just for reference… What things are in that exam?]
[The written exam consists of 500 questions randomly chosen from
several categories, including general education and magic. However,
there would be 100 of these questions about "maidology" every year.]
[…Ahh~~ I see…]
Come to think of it, there's that huh. The president of the Underworld
King Adoration Association is that monstrous maid… Unnn, it wouldn't
be strange to think that Ein-san was the one who created an outrageous
exam like that.
[W- Well, putting that aside… M- Miyama-sama? W- Would it really be
alright for me to read it?]
[Yes, Kuro said I'm free to do what I want to do with them… Should I
lend you some of the volumes?]
[…Miyama-sama, you must be my messiah huh…]
[I'm not.]
Lunamaria-san's tension was starting to get strange, so I handed her
one volume of the Eating Tour in its Entirety Guide to shut her up.
Thereupon, Lunamaria-san immediately pounced on it. Her eyes are
scary… Those aren't the eyes of someone reading the book, they're
definitely the eyes of someone who was about to head towards a
decisive battle…
[…A- Ahhh… How wonderful… How sublime…]
[......]
Each of her reactions were too exaggerated. Well, I guess that's how
valuable the book is to Lunamaria-san.
In fact, I might look at it as some kind of restaurant report book… but
for fanatics, it might as well be the Bible huh.
Already forgetting her original purpose for coming here, Lunamaria-san
sat down on the sofa, reading the book… Ummm, aren't you working
right now? No, let's not voice out our tsukkomi here. It kinda feels
scary…
Looking at Lunamaria-san, I let out a small sigh before taking out
cookies from my magic box.
[…I have cookies as teacakes. Lunamaria-san, would you like to have
some?]
[Thank you, "Kaito-san"! I'm really glad!]
[…Unnn?]
[Ahh…]
Somehow, I think something strange just now… Lunamaria-san's voice
just now, it wasn't her usual cool voice, as her voice sounded innocent
like a child.
It isn't as if she did it on purpose either… It's as if she had accidentally
"let her true nature come out".
[......]
[......]
Lunamaria-san's face then began to turn pale as she looked at me,
sweat dripping down her forehead.
A very awkward silence passed between us while I stayed silent, unable
to say anything.
After a while, Lunamaria-san quickly stands up, still holding the book.
Her face also seemed to be dyed red.
[…M- Miyama-sama. P- Please excuse my impudence, but may I borrow
this book?]
[Ah, yes. You can borrow it.]
[T- Thank you. I'll be excusing myself then!]
[Eh? Ahh!?]
As soon as I nodded, Lunamaria-san walked out of the room at great
speed.
Errr, what just happened… Could it be that Lunamaria-san… was feeling
shy? I somehow feel like I've seen something very unusual.
A few hours after Lunamaria-san left the room, I spent my time
leisurely reading… but Lunamaria-san, who should have ran away, came
back.
[…Errr, Lunamaria-san?]
[…Miyama-sama, here.]
[…What is this?]
When Lunamaria-san came back, she handed me something wrapped in
a palm-sized wrapper. It's slightly warm and faintly smells sweet… Are
these sweets?
As I tilted my head to the side, not knowing why she handed it to me,
Lunamaria-san averts her gaze towards the right, speaking with an air
of calmness.
[…Please think of it as some kind of hush money?]
[Hush money?]
[Please don't tell anyone what happened earlier.]
[…Alright.]
[Thank you. Now then, I'll be excusing myself.]
I planned to calmly talk with Lunamaria-san, but seeing the firm look in
her eyes, a lot of things were conveyed.
Even so, this package… Pink paper and tied with a frilly ribbon… It feels
like Lunamaria-san has quite the cute taste.
I felt as if I've seen a side of Lunamaria-san, which I don't usually see,
making a small smile naturally appear on my lips.
Opening the package I received… I found a variety of colorful
marshmallows inside.
…As I thought, it was really something cute… That's one side of her that
I didn't expect.
Dear Mom, Dad—– I saw a very unusual scene where Lunamaria-san
was embarrassed. And then, I was given homemade-looking
marshmallows as some sort of hush money, but whether it's the
wrapping paper or the ribbon——- Lunamaria-san is quite feminine.