Wearing an angelic smile, Kuro came running toward us... or rather, toward me, as we entered the city that served as the venue for the Six Kings Festival.
Two distinct types of stares pierced me from the surrounding crowd: "Who’s that guy?" and "Ah, so he’s the one from the rumors..." The location was unfortunate, too. Being so close to the gate meant there were plenty of people around, and thus, plenty of eyes fixed on me.
I felt exactly like a panda in a zoo.
While I fought the urge to escape reality and waved back at the approaching Kuro, Lunamaria-san suddenly sank to her knees nearby.
"...Sublime."
Could someone please take this no-good maid to a hospital? She was clutching her nose while weeping tears of joy.
Paying no mind to Lunamaria-san’s reaction, Kuro slowed down as she reached me and threw her arms around me in a hug.
"Ehehe, I couldn't wait any longer, so I came to find you. Welcome, Kaito-kun."
"Y-Yeah."
She was cute. She was transcendently, devastatingly cute.
She was so adorable that the mountain of gazes nearly vanished into the back of my mind. Well, no, that was a lie. I was still extremely conscious of everyone watching us. In fact, it was almost more than I could handle.
"W-Well then, since Kaito-san likely has matters to discuss with the Underworld King-sama, we shall take our leave..."
"Lilia-san?! Are you trying to ditch me? Are you trying to use me as a sacrifice so you can escape this spotlight?!"
"...I-I don't know what you're talking about?"
Her eyes darted about guiltily as she tried to slip away.
The rest of the group seemed to think that disturbing Kuro while her excitement was at its peak would be hazardous to their health, as they had already begun to shuffle away while I was pleading with Lilia-san.
However, unexpectedly, Kuro let go of me and called out to Lilia-san.
"Ah, Lilia-chan. Wait a second, I have a message for you."
"Eh? A m-message?"
"Yeah. I could have asked Sha... No Face to handle it, but I wanted to see Kaito-kun, so I decided to deliver it myself."
As Lilia-san stopped and looked back apologetically, Kuro pulled a card roughly the size of a letter out of thin air, her smile never wavering.
"Lilia-chan, everyone in your group has different invitation ranks, right?"
"Eh? Ah, yes."
"I'm sure you heard that normally your accommodations would change based on your rank... but during a meeting between the Six Kings, we unanimously decided to grant you special treatment as 'acquaintances of Kaito-kun.'"
"...T-That is a g-g-great honor."
"Mhm. So, I’ve had a 'dedicated accommodation' built for Lilia-chan and the others at the location written on this card. You’ll all be staying there."
"...Huh?"
Hearing Kuro’s words, Lilia-san wore an expression of dumbfounded shock that was incredibly easy to read.
And it was no wonder. The Six Kings had gone through the trouble of constructing a brand-new facility just for them.
"Ah, by the way, I’ve assigned 'three hundred dedicated servants' to the place. Let me know if that’s not enough, okay?"
"...Wha?"
"I've also brought in world-class chefs and stocked the kitchen with the 'highest quality' ingredients, so please enjoy yourselves."
"..."
This was bad; Lilia-san was on the verge of a total short-circuit. It seemed she hadn't expected to receive such overwhelming VIP treatment from the Six Kings.
She stood there frozen, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
Wait, if everyone else was staying in the same place...
"K-Kuro. Can I stay at that accommodation too...?"
"No."
"...Okay."
It was a firm, unwavering rejection.
While I slumped my shoulders in disappointment, support arrived from an unexpected quarter.
"U-Underworld King-sama, if I may... wouldn't Miyama-kun feel more comfortable if he were with everyone else?"
"Maybe for just the first day or so..."
"Rei-san, Fia-san..."
Even though they were clearly intimidated by Kuro, they spoke up on my behalf, suggesting I should stay with the group for at least a day.
What wonderful people. I realized I had been completely misunderstanding Rei-san and Fia-san until now.
"Hmm. I wouldn't mind that, but are you guys sure you're okay with it?"
"E-Err, what do you mean by 'okay'?"
Kuro agreed surprisingly easily, but her expression turned somewhat cryptic.
When a puzzled Rei-san asked for clarification, Kuro looked over Lilia-san and the others before speaking.
"At the place where Kaito-kun is staying... 'Isis' is coming to visit, you know?"
"Alright, everyone! Since the Six Kings-sama went to so much trouble to prepare an accommodation for us, we should head there immediately!"
"Yes, let's do that!"
It was a magnificent about-face. You two, are you really that terrified of Isis-san? Though, thinking back, most of the people here were witnesses to the time 'Isis-san drove the Black Bears to extinction'...
Lilia-san and the others were nodding like bobbleheads. Yeah. If they were this frightened, I had no choice but to give up on staying with them.
After everyone gave their proper greetings to Kuro and departed for their lodging, I headed toward the Central Tower with Kuro, who had taken over guiding duties from Caraway-san.
To be fair, even without a guide, I felt like I could probably find my way to that massive tower on my own.
"B-By the way, Kuro? Lilia-san’s accommodation sounds incredible, but... will there be a huge crowd of servants where I’m staying too?"
I asked Kuro as she walked beside me, happily squeezing my hand with a radiant smile.
Lilia-san’s place had three hundred servants. That scale was already staggering, and I was worried mine might be even more absurd.
For an ordinary guy like me, the prospect of staying alone in a place swarming with countless strangers was mentally exhausting.
"Nope. There's only one person dedicated to Kaito-kun's room."
"Eh? Really? That's a relief, but... it's a bit unexpected."
"Well, there's no need for anyone else. Kaito-kun's dedicated servant is 'Ein.'"
"Ah, yeah. I completely understand now."
I see, so Ein-san had been assigned to me. In that case, more servants really weren't necessary. After all, it was Ein-san. Just having her present was already a guarantee of the world's most premium service.
"Hey, Kaito-kun."
"Yeah?"
"After I show you to your room... do you want to go out with me for a bit?"
"I'd love to, but where are we going?"
"That's a surprise for when we get there!"
Kuro’s grin was as mischievous as a child who had just pulled off a successful prank, and she looked helplessly cute.
She had been so busy with the festival preparations lately that I was honestly looking forward to some quiet time together.
Though, if possible, I hoped we could go somewhere where we wouldn't draw too much attention...
Dear Mother, Father—Having parted ways with Lilia-san and the others, I followed Kuro toward the Central Tower. I don't know the specifics of my room yet, but given that the superhuman maid is my dedicated attendant—incredible VIP treatment is guaranteed.