My house was almost identical in size and appearance to Lilia-san’s—the Ducal House mansion—which meant it had a staggering number of rooms. In Lilia-san’s case, it made sense because she had many live-in employees, but in my house, the extra rooms were mostly just going to waste.
Because of that, I decided to rent some of them out at a low price to people I was on good terms with. Currently, three people lived in my home: one of Lilia's Mansion's Cooks, one person from the Security Force, and one maid. No matter how spacious the house was, we were all under one roof, so we naturally ran into each other from time to time.
Today, I happened to encounter one of them in the hallway. She was carrying a paper bag, looking like she had just returned from a shopping trip. Upon noticing me, she gave a casual wave.
“...Hm? Oh, hey, Kaito-kun.”
“Vanessa-san... Wait, did you go shopping dressed like that?”
She was a woman about 160 cm tall with a somewhat low-energy, downer-type atmosphere. She wore a baggy, oversized T-shirt and hot pants, her unkempt black hair tied back in a loose ponytail. Seeing Vanessa-san like that, I couldn’t help but ask.
Her outfit was simply too relaxed—or rather, it was a style meant entirely for lounging at home. Since Vanessa-san had a large chest, it was fairly obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra.
“Ah, no, obviously I wore proper clothes when I went out. I create my clothes with Magic Power, after all. I changed as soon as I got back... Honestly, if I went outside like this and Illness-sensei caught me, I’d be in for a real lecture.”
“Well, that’s a relief. Are those ingredients or something?”
“I’m off tomorrow, so I thought I’d have an Evening Drink. I bought a few snacks to go with it. I mean, the bar in the basement is nice, but it’s a bit too fancy, you know? Don’t you think there’s a certain kind of work fatigue that can only be cured by chugging cheap booze? Plus, I wanted to stop by the Casino while I was at it...”
“Wasn't that your main goal? ...How did it go?”
“I got absolutely demolished... How strange. I really felt like today was my day.”
Vanessa-san loved alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. In a way, she was a total failure of an adult woman, but her atmosphere at work was entirely different—there, she was serious and sharp. While she was basically a total slob in private, she was a frank and pleasant person. When I was first summoned to this Otherworld and arrived at Lilia-san’s mansion, she was one of the people who spoke to me in a relaxed, friendly manner without any hostility from the start. We became friends as we talked, which eventually led to her renting a room here.
“After working so hard at painful labor every day, the least they could do is let me win at gambling once in a while.”
“Is work really that tough?”
“More like I think all labor is crap. If possible, I’d like to live without working. I have enough money to do it if I really wanted to, but... well, I’m the type of piece of trash who can view myself objectively. If I quit my job, I’d probably end up living a truly garbage life. I think my current job gives my life some much-needed structure.”
“You sure have a blunt way of putting it.”
“I mean, if you took my job away, I’d just be a textbook example of a useless person—nothing but booze, cigarettes, and gambling.”
Vanessa-san put a cigarette in her mouth without lighting it and gave a bitter smile. As she said, she was pretty much a lost cause in her private life, but she was refreshing in her honesty. Even now, she was cackling with a carefree laugh. She had a light vibe and was a very easy person to talk to.
“...Oh, right. Kaito-kun, are you free?”
“Eh? Yeah, I don’t particularly have any plans...”
“Ooh, then let’s drink some cheap booze with your big sister!”
“...Didn't you say it was an Evening Drink? It’s still the middle of the day.”
“Well, you see, if we keep drinking until Night, it counts as a respectable Evening Drink, so it’s fine. Therefore, let's drink in Vanessa-san's Room!”
“I mean, sure, if you're okay with it...”
I had shared drinks with Vanessa-san many times before. However, since we usually drank in the Dining Hall or at Iris-san's Bar, this might have been the first time I would be drinking in Vanessa-san's Room.
We had played video games together before, so I had visited her room a few times. For the record, despite her blatant slovenliness, her room was actually quite clean.
“Vanessa-san, the difference between your work persona and your private self really is night and day.”
“That’s because I’m the type who can strictly separate my public and private lives. I work seriously, you know. I’m in a position of some responsibility, after all.”
“Right, you’re the Head Maid.”
“I still think Illness-sensei should be the Head Maid. I mean, look at me—I’m clearly not the type for it. Haa... if only Luna-chan wasn't assigned to Lilia-chan, I’d hand the Head Maid position over to her in a heartbeat.”
Vanessa-san muttered in a low-energy tone. She really was a Downer-type Big Sister. Since she was incredibly sharp and used formal language at work, the gap between her personas was staggering.
As we headed to Vanessa-san's Room... well, her chest swayed so much with every step that I didn't know where to look.
“...Um... Vanessa-san... Er, I’m having a hard time knowing where to put my eyes right now.”
“Hmm? Oh, the chest? Yeah, they bounce around quite a bit when I walk, and sometimes they rub and get sore, but bras are just so restrictive... Is it my fault for being pointlessly large?”
“I wouldn't know... For my part, it’s just very awkward, or should I say...”
“Who cares? If it bothers you, just look. I don't mind. Look, my appearance is pretty good, right? My personality might be trash by my own admission, but at least my outside is decent. I don't think you'd need the help, but you can even use me as jerk-off material if you want.”
Her way of speaking was always low-tension, which made it clear she truly didn't care, but that didn't mean I could just say, “Understood, I'll take a look then.”
Serious-senpai: “I think the talk about renting out rooms came up before... Setting that aside, is a downer-type a character archetype that unexpectedly hadn't appeared yet?”