It all began with an unusual summons from Lilia-san. She mentioned she had a visitor and asked if I could come over... It was a strange request. If the guest had business with me, they could have simply come to my house. The fact that she was calling me to her mansion suggested the visitor was her acquaintance, not mine.
If we were talking about nobles, there were plenty of people who might want an audience, but Lilia-san had never introduced me to anyone in this manner before. Furthermore, the expression on Luna-san’s face when she came to fetch me was strangely conflicted, a faint trace of apology lingering on her features.
"Luna-san, why are you looking so vaguely apologetic?"
"Miyama-sama, please feel free to refuse if it is inconvenient for you."
"Um... who exactly is here?"
"It is someone you haven't met before. She isn't a bad person, but her temperament is rather... straightforward. Or perhaps I should say she is quite proactive."
"Aren't you saying things that make me feel incredibly uneasy?"
She came all this way to get me, yet immediately offered me an out, and then she started making excuses for the person's personality. Usually, saying someone "isn't a bad person" is the kind of thing people say when there's a problem somewhere, right?
The unsettling phrasing made me want to decline on the spot, but I figured that might cause trouble for Lilia-san. Since I didn't actually have any plans, I decided to go.
"So, who is it in the end?"
"It is Beatrice-sama, the Head Maid of the Kingdom of Sinfonia."
"I definitely haven't met her."
"She is also one of His Majesty the King's wives."
"Oh, is that so? Come to think of it, I feel like I've heard something about that before..."
I remembered a conversation with Orchid where he mentioned that one of Ryze-san's wives was a maid he had adored like an older sister since he was young. I suppose Ryze-san had fallen for Beatrice-sama while she was taking care of him. It was a lovely, dramatic story, but I had absolutely no connection to her.
I had visited the Royal Castle several times, but I had never encountered anyone with the title of Head Maid. Well, I might have seen her in passing, but we had certainly never been introduced. Moreover, I had no idea why the Head Maid would want to see me.
"Beatrice-sama is one of the Maid World's Four Treasures. She is a Super Maid, specifically known as the Super Maid of Heart."
"Wait, I suddenly want to go home right now..."
"She exudes a Maidric Aura of Severity. By her very nature, she possesses the strength of character to strictly guide and even scold her own master when necessary. It is said that even His Majesty the King is no match for her..."
Was this more talk about that abnormal "Maid World" I'd rather not know about? I seriously felt like making up an excuse about remembering an urgent errand and turning back. I really wished people would stop stuffing this bizarre trivia into my head. What irritated me most was that I had recently reached a point where I could actually understand what they were talking about.
"In any case, she is a woman with an intense passion for her vocation. Her obsession with all things maid-related rivals even that of the Chairman."
"I'm currently overwhelmed by the desire to remember a prior engagement and run away. Why is this person visiting me? I'm not a maid, and I don't want anything to do with this 'Maid World' of yours."
"You must be joking. Miyama-sama, as someone recognized by Chairman Ein—the absolute pinnacle of the Maid World—you are a vital figure to the community."
"Please stop. Seriously, just stop."
The Maid World was terrifying. Being branded an important figure without my knowledge or consent was more than I could handle. I truly, from the bottom of my heart, wanted to distance myself from that circle. Though, where Luna-san was concerned, I was certain she was just teasing me because she knew how much I hated it.
"Returning to the subject, Beatrice-sama deeply respects Illness-sama. After all, Illness-sama was effectively the finest maid the Royal Castle had ever seen."
"I can understand that, but does that really connect back to me?"
"Actually, it does. It seems she has taken a keen interest in Nebula-sama, who has been close with Illness-sama lately."
"In Nebula?"
My urge to turn tail and run intensified. I had no intention of letting my cute Nebula get involved with the Maid World or any of those other strange circles.
"Hearing that Nebula-sama's skills were high enough to earn Illness-sama’s praise, Beatrice-sama felt she simply had to meet her. She has come to ask for your permission first, Miyama-sama."
"I see... Well, Nebula is amazing. I can understand why someone would want to meet her."
"I-I see."
This was a difficult problem. The fact that she had come because she recognized Nebula's excellence earned her a lot of points in my book. It made me feel proud to know that even the Head Maid of the Royal Castle had heard of Nebula's talents. But that was one thing, and wanting to keep her away from weird crowds was another... I was torn.
Serious-senpai: "If you want to raise Kaito's favorability, the quickest way is to bring up his pets or Nebula. He did a total 180 just now... This doting parent..."