As they walked toward their client, Akane spoke to Frau, her guard and assistant who strode along beside her.
"I’ve been wondering about this for a while now... but aren't there way too many maids in this world with absurd combat power? I’m not saying it’s every single one of them, but I feel like I see maids stronger than knights just tripping over themselves everywhere I look."
"My, Chairman, what an odd thing to say."
"R-Right? I figured it was just a coincidence that the ones I’ve run into were like that. Normally it’s—"
"It is only natural that a maid would be stronger than a knight. Of course, it is a different matter if we are discussing a Knight Commander or a captain-class individual, but it is unheard of for a first-class maid to fall behind a common knight."
"Ehh?! That’s where you’re going with this?!"
Frau replied with a look of genuine bewilderment, as if she were merely stating the obvious. In truth, the average combat strength of maids in this world was indeed higher than that of knights, making it an indisputable fact of life in this reality.
Even if it was a bitter pill for an Otherworlder like Akane to swallow.
"Listen closely, Chairman. A first-class maid requires three essential traits: a devoted heart, exceptional technique... and 'overwhelming combat power.' A maid who falls behind some mediocre knight is still only a second or third-rate amateur. In fact, it is precisely because I am far stronger than an average knight that I am qualified to serve as your assistant and bodyguard."
"No, no, why on earth would a maid need combat power in the first place?! Where in the world of housework do you actually use that?!"
"If any of those three pillars are lacking, one cannot hope to survive the trials of Maid Olympia."
"...Hey, that thing you mention every now and then... is it actually real? It’s not just some weird fantasy you cooked up?"
After firing off a retort at Frau’s description of the perfect maid, Akane probed further into this Maid Olympia.
The festival of maids held once every four years—Maid Olympia. To be honest, whenever Akane had heard Frau mention it before, she had simply tuned it out, assuming it was just more of her assistant's strange eccentricities.
It stood to reason; Akane couldn't fathom that such a ridiculous competition actually existed. However, listening to Frau’s intense description of the maid ideal, she was starting to suspect that the tournament might be more than a myth.
"Of course it exists. I have participated in it many times myself. Though, I am still quite a novice in the profession, so I have never made it past the third round."
"Is that right? That’s actually a bit surprising. You’re one of the most competent people I know, so I figured you’d be a shoo-in for the championship."
"I appreciate the high praise, but unfortunately, my Maid Power is only 47,000. I have yet to even reach the middle tiers."
"...Wait, what are you even saying? 'Maid Power'?"
"Maid Power is the numerical quantification of the Maidric Aura manifested by those who have harmonized the heart, technique, and body essential to our craft. One cannot even qualify for Maid Olympia without a Maid Power of at least 30,000. Those who exceed 100,000 are honored as Super Maids. Excluding the ultimate maid, Ein-sama, there are only four Super Maids in the entire world—they represent the absolute peak of the profession. Furthermore, there are several different types of Maidric Aura..."
"Stop, stop! That’s enough, I don't want to hear another word. My brain’s starting to hurt..."
At the mention of such sheer lunacy, Akane instinctively clutched her head. She found herself recoiling slightly at the unexpected, fanatical passion her otherwise reliable assistant harbored for the domestic arts.
However, Akane was a woman of vast experience as the head of a trading company. She quickly decided that some topics were better left unexplored for the sake of her own sanity. Steeling her nerves, she steered the conversation back to the starting point: the matter of combat power.
"...So, are these Super Maids also 'super' when it comes to fighting?"
"Indeed. As for the three Super Maids of Heart, Technique, and Body, their combat abilities are roughly on par with one another. However, I believe the fourth individual—the Super Maid of Balance—stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of raw power. She is the maid I admire most, incidentally."
"Is that so?"
"During the semi-finals a few tournaments back, there was an event that required the contestants to subjugate and cook a Leviathan that had gone into a frenzy in the Demon Realm's oceans..."
"Wait, don't just gloss over the 'slaying a sea monster' part! That is not a maid's job! Well... I guess it's too late to complain about that now. Just keep going."
"As you wish. On that occasion, the Super Maid of Balance threw a single punch from the shore and obliterated the Leviathan. It was quite the spectacle. 'The sea was split' as well, as I recall."
"...She’s a literal monster."
The one referred to as the Super Maid of Balance was actually Camellia the Floral Princess. She had been mistakenly identified as a maid by Ein and, being too weak-willed to refuse, was forced to participate in Maid Olympia every single time.
Rumor had it that after slaying the Leviathan, she had muttered, "I should have hit it with five percent instead of ten."
"For your information, that Super Maid of Balance is Her Excellency Floral Princess Camellia-sama, one of the Seven Princesses serving under the World King."
"Ah, oh! I see! Okay, that makes sense! If she’s an executive of one of the Six Kings, then sure, she can do that. Man, I wasted a perfectly good shock... In other words, the other Super Maids are also high-ranking subordinates of the Six Kings or knights or something, right? They just need the combat power for their other jobs, so it naturally ends up being high..."
"Actually, no. The other three do not hold any occupations outside of their maid duties. Two are humans and one is a demon, if you were curious."
"Then it really is just weird! Seriously, what is wrong with the maids in this world?! It’s terrifying!"
"If it would please you, Chairman, would you like to come watch the next tournament?"
"Absolutely not! I can only see a future where my brain gets permanently corrupted!"
Had Kaito been present, there was no doubt he and Akane would have found themselves in perfect agreement—specifically regarding the fact that the maids of this world were fundamentally broken.
Akane Mikumo
Fifty-eight years old. A former Hero-role actor who chose to immigrate to this world. She possesses a unique talent for Teleportation Magic; much like Noin, she can cast it with impossibly low mana consumption, though she is utterly incompetent with any other form of magic.
She established the Mikumo Trading Company, a mobile merchant association that uses her teleportation magic to conduct business all over the world. Because Kuromueina provided significant assistance during the company's founding, they share a reasonably close relationship, which led to Akane being invited to the Six Kings Festival.
Thanks to a temporary blessing from Life at the festival, she has been rejuvenated to her teenage years.
She has a bright personality and speaks in a Manzai Dialect (which she insists is not merely Kansai Dialect). She harbors an obsessive passion for takoyaki.
Since moving to this world, she has yet to meet any of the other Otherworlders directly, having only seen them from a distance during the Hero Festival.
Despite her purple hair, leopard-patterned clothes, and dialect being a deliberate "look," the people of Trinia don't understand the cultural references and simply ignore it, leaving her feeling a bit lonely.
She has become somewhat stubborn about it, but she plans to stop wearing the leopard print as soon as she meets someone from her home world who can actually give her a proper retort.
Also, her chest armor has always been on the thin side.