I had finally finished the notification to Ein-san—who might very well have been the biggest hurdle of them all. The process had taken a bit of a toll on Alice's mental state, though.
"Uuugh... wouldn't something like Quasi-King-class or Archduke-class have been just fine?"
"You went with Maid-class precisely because those wouldn't convince her, didn't you? Honestly, wouldn't it have been easier to just title her a 'King' of some sort as long as you tacked 'Maid' onto the front?"
"Not a chance. If she were the type of person who could be convinced by such cheap tricks, she wouldn't have built so many nonsensical things like the World Maid Association, Maid Studies, or Maid Olympia. Her obsession with maids is so pathological that if I even dared use the word 'King,' she'd snap and try to take my head off."
"I... I see."
Well, certainly, Ein-san's obsession with maids was at a level bordering on pure insanity. Simply calling her a maid wasn't enough; the philosophy behind the title was what mattered most.
Speaking of this specific instance, since she had been at the absolute limit of her dissatisfaction with the original Duke-class rank, she had responded immediately to the prospect of a Maid-class tier.
"Actually, Ein-san was relatively conciliatory this time. It’s an improvement that she didn't even complain about adding qualifiers like '-class' or 'High-ranking Demon.' Seriously, you have no idea the blood, sweat, and tears I poured into getting her to accept the title of Duke-class in the first place..."
"The fact that you got her to agree to anything at all back then, even with strings attached, is a miracle in itself."
"It was an absolute nightmare. I even had Kuro-san help me, but she still wouldn't give her approval easily. That was the only time, before or since, that I've ever seen Ein-san rebel—well, grumble—against Kuro-san. Kuro-san looked a bit troubled by it, but she also seemed almost happy, like Ein-san’s sulking was some kind of precious, novel experience for her."
"A mother’s heart, I guess... You really did do a good job finally talking her around."
Indeed, for someone like Ein-san, who would fall into a state of despair comparable to the end of the world just by being out of her maid uniform, getting her to accept the title of Duke-class—even if it was only used by others—must have been an absurd challenge. In fact, it seemed even Alice and Kuro working together had barely managed to pull it off.
"...Come to think of it, this is likely a long way off, but what if someone comes along who blows the Duke-class standard out of the water? Would they get promoted to Maid-class, too?"
"No, in that case, the Seventh King would be fine. After all, this is just a new higher rank I prepared because Ein-san would have gotten furious if I tried to label her a King. We can just keep it as a special slot just for her. Besides, Ein-san is probably the only person on the planet whose motivation would actually go up knowing that 'Maid-class' was the pinnacle of their career."
"That's true. So, in the end, it really is a special category just for her. You don't really need to be that depressed about it."
"No, even if that's the case, I just... I hate that it's effectively at the top of the Peerage-class hierarchy. I wanted a cooler title. Even though I’d already given up on the idea beforehand, Alice-chan still took a fair amount of mental damage."
"...I see. By the way, can I ask you one thing?"
"What is it?"
I understood Alice's point. I understood that this was the only way to persuade Ein-san, and I understood why she hated the fact that a rank that looked like a total joke—Maid-class—now existed at the top of her system, even if she had seen it coming.
However, putting that aside, I had a more immediate question.
"...Why exactly am I giving you a piggyback ride?"
Yes, I was currently walking while carrying Alice on my back. I didn't quite understand how it had come to this, even as it was happening.
"Alice-chan took severe mental damage, so she’s currently in recharge mode."
"And what exactly are you charging by hanging off my back?"
"...Dreams and hope, I guess?"
"That is suspiciously vague!"
Apparently, being on my back recharged her dreams and hope. As if!
While retorting in my mind, I sighed, figuring it couldn't be helped. It was a fact that Alice was exhausted, and she was likely just in the mood to be pampered by her boyfriend.
"...Well, all things considered, I think you've done a great job."
"Ooh, that’s the stuff. Kaito-san, please keep pampering me like that. I'm the type that flourishes when I'm spoiled."
"You say that, but you'll just get embarrassed if I actually do it."
"Please adjust that part skillfully. I need an exquisite level of attention—enough to be soothing, but not so much that it gets embarrassing."
"Your orders are way too specific..."
I sighed in exasperation at her response, but being leaned on like this once in a while was proof that Alice had truly opened her heart to me. It wasn't a bad feeling at all.
Serious-senpai: "Oho... Merch, is it? Well, where's mine?"
???: "As if you'd ever get any..."
Serious-senpai: "...Dammit, after all, this kind of thing should go to the main heroi—wait, hey you! Since when did you go and get your own merch?! That’s totally unfair!"
???: "Hmm, whatever could you be talking about? I'm not quite sure myself, but since Alice-chan is cute, it's only natural. Senpai, I'm sure you'll get some goods too... maybe by the eighth wave of releases, you’ll finally get a look-in?"
Serious-senpai: "Which basically means never..."