Lilia-san sat across from me, sipping her tea. Her movements were graceful—every bit the noblewoman she was.
The brew she was currently enjoying was her usual favorite, but with a special addition: tea leaves crafted by Nebula and prepared by Illness-san.
"This is... truly remarkable," she murmured. "The flavor of a blend I know so well has been elevated to an entirely different level. I am genuinely moved. To call this a revolution in black tea wouldn't be an exaggeration at all."
"I know, right? It really surprised me, too. Nebula said she was probably overstating things, but these leaves are incredible."
The leaves Nebula produced acted as a sort of "booster." When handled correctly, they could enhance the profile of almost any base tea, making them a truly versatile, all-purpose additive.
Lilia-san continued to share her impressions for a few minutes before setting her cup down and shifting the topic. "However, you mentioned that they are difficult to use. Tell me, Luna—could you manage these leaves?"
"To be perfectly honest... it would be impossible!" Luna declared with startling intensity.
"Wait, you're that certain?" Lilia-san asked, taken aback by her bluntness.
"I am. It's just that the technical skills possessed by Illness-sama and Nebula are so astronomical that they think something like this is merely 'difficult.' For anyone else, it’s far beyond that. If you get the ratio of leaves or the volume of water off by even a fraction, or if you fail to account for the day's temperature and humidity, the flavor is ruined. It requires such impossibly delicate adjustments. I tried it myself, but I couldn't enhance the flavor at all—it just turned into a cup of tea filled with impurities."
It seemed Luna-san had received a brief lesson from Illness-san in the kitchenette while the tea was being prepared. Clearly, the standards for "difficult" held by Nebula and Illness-san were on an entirely different scale from the rest of the world.
"These leaves are meant to turn a hundred-point cup of tea into a hundred-and-twenty-point cup," Luna continued. "If you don't already have the skill to brew a perfect hundred-point cup, you can't hope to master them. Honestly, I doubt even the Head Maid could do it."
"That much...?"
"The only other person I can think of who might stand a chance is Sieg-san. Actually, she seemed to grasp the basics quite quickly; she's in the kitchenette right now, getting a proper lesson from the two of them."
I hadn't really thought much about it when she'd brewed tea for me in the past, but it turned out Sieg-san was quite the connoisseur. Her skill reportedly surpassed both Luna-san and the Head Maid. Looking back, she had identified Glorious Tea—a leaf that almost never hits the public market—just by sight. Her knowledge and technique were clearly top-tier.
While these leaves were clearly for high-level experts, they truly were revolutionary for those capable of using them. I suspected Ein-san could handle them. If Nebula gave me the green light, I figured I'd send some over to Kuro as a souvenir for Ein-san. Part of me just wanted to brag about the incredible things my Nebula had made... though I knew I shouldn't be the one acting proud.
Meanwhile, deep within the Demon Realm at Kuromueina's Castle, the Underworld King herself was wearing a look of sheer bewilderment. Before her, Ein was prostrate, her head pressed to the floor in a deep dogeza. Razulia, who had accompanied her, looked just as troubled.
"...Um, Ein?"
"Please, Chrome-sama! I must have more of those tea leaves!"
"You mean the ones Kaito-kun gave us as a souvenir? The ones Nebula-chan made? Are they really that impressive?"
"They are a product that will redefine the history of tea! I believed I had reached the pinnacle of the art—especially given how closely tea is tied to the duties of a maid—but these leaves have taken the flavors I once thought mastered and elevated them to a higher dimension!"
"Right... Well, setting aside the 'deep connection' part, I can certainly feel your passion."
"Please, Chrome-sama, you must try a cup for yourself!"
Despite her uncharacteristic excitement, Ein's movements remained flawlessly efficient as she prepared a cup and placed it before Kuromueina. Kuro took a sip, her eyes widening in surprise.
"I see... This really is something. It's clearly much more delicious than usual, yet it doesn't interfere with the tea's original character at all."
"I want to experiment with so many more blends," Ein continued. "But for some reason, even with Razulia’s help, we can’t replicate the leaves."
"It's true-desu. It’s very strange. Even if I try to grow them using the original leaves as a base, they just turn into ordinary tea leaves-desu. I’m sure there’s some special treatment involved in the cultivation process, but Raz doesn’t have the slightest clue-desu."
Ein had been moved to her core by Nebula’s creation and was desperate to secure a steady supply. However, since the leaves were primarily produced for use in my home, there was very little to go around. She had consulted Razulia and Lilliwood in hopes of mass-producing them, but they had both failed to replicate the results. With no other options, she had decided to negotiate directly with the producer. That was why she had come to Kuromueina—the only person she knew with a direct connection to Nebula.
"Fine, fine... I'll ask Kaito-kun about it. But only after you’ve calmed down a bit. If you show up with that much intensity, you’ll just end up scaring poor Nebula-chan."
"Thank you so much!"
Chrome finally buckled under Ein's fervor. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have hesitated to introduce them, but Ein’s current "maid-obsessed" state was so intense that she was genuinely worried about frightening Nebula. After warning Ein several more times to tone it down, Kuromueina let out a heavy sigh and sent a Hummingbird to me.
Serious-senpai: "Hoh, so we're finally getting the meeting between Nebula and Ein. People have been asking about this in the comments for ages. I wonder how she'll react to Illness's buffed Maid Power? ...Wait, I just realized I'm starting to accept 'Maid Power' as a legitimate metric. I kind of hate myself right now."